The Calm Before the Storm: Year 3
by 1seddiefan
Summary: Right as Hailey Potter starts to enter her third year at Hogwarts, mass murderer Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban. However, Hailey isn't even safe at Hogwarts or even surrounded by her friends because Sirius Black is after her for causing his downfall. On top of that, there might be a traitor in their midst. Slight AU.
1. Owl Post

A/N: Here's to making it to Year 3.

Elizabeth Gillies is the face-claim for Hailey Potter.

* * *

It was nearly midnight but Hailey Potter was still up doing homework. She was seated at Dudley's desk, with the lamp on. She had placed a jumper on it, to dim most of the light.

She had placed a jumper in front of the door so the Dursleys didn't notice the light to let them know that she was still up if they got up to have midnight trips to the bathroom. She was currently reading _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot for her essay, 'Witch Burning in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless—discuss.'

She looked over, pressed her finger on the leather-bound book, and started to read what was written there.

 _Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty-seven times in various disguises._

She grabbed a roll of parchment and a bottle of ink. She unscrewed the ink and dipped her eagle-feather quill in it. She got the eagle-feather quill as a Christmas gift from her friend, Hermione. She began to write, pausing every now and then to listen for any sign of the Dursleys getting up to go to the bathroom. If Dudley heard the sound of the quill on parchment, he would rat her out to her aunt and uncle, as they would love the opportunity to shove her in the cupboard under the stairs, which had formally been her bedroom for ten years.

Dudley would love to have a new reason to tease her about her, in his words, slightly creepy looking 'boyfriend', Michael. He would probably tell his parents that she was writing letters to him. He completely ignored Hailey when she kept telling him that she and, fellow Ravenclaw, Michael Corner, were just friends. Somehow, Dudley wormed Michael's name out of Hailey and then Dudley proceeded to tell his gang about Michael, when they showed up at Number 4. Every time Hailey entered the room they happened to be in, they started singing, "Hailey and Michael, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…" complete with exaggerated kissing sounds in her direction. They laughed every time Hailey started blushing furiously and they laughed harder when she said that they were just friends. It got to the point that she gave up telling them that they were friends.

At the start of summer, when she got home from Hogwarts, her aunt and uncle had taken away her cauldron, broomstick, spellbooks, and wand, locking it in the cupboard under the stairs.

The problem was that she had a lot of holiday work to do. Hailey figured that it was probably to make up for the basilisk attacks that happened last term, and to make up for the incompetence of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart turned out to be a phony who was stealing credit from other people and wrote as if he did all their heroic deeds. He had been on the receiving end of a backfired memory charm, due to Ron Weasley's malfunctioning wand.

Her least favourite teacher, Professor Snape, who taught potions, would love to have a reason to give her detention. If he found out that she didn't her holiday work, she'll probably be serving detention for a month or two.

When Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley had gone outside to loudly brag about Vernon's new car, so the entire neighbourhood could hear it, Hailey seized her chance to go downstairs, pick the lock to the cupboard, grab some spellbooks, parchment, and ink then make her way upstairs, to hide them in her room. They wouldn't know she was studying magic by night, as long as if she didn't leave any ink behind.

Hailey wanted to avoid trouble with the Dursleys especially since her aunt and uncle had received a telephone call from Ron, a week into the summer holidays.

Unfortunately, Uncle Vernon had answered the call, "Vernon Dursley speaking."

Hailey, who happened to be in the room, froze when she heard Ron's voice, bellowing, "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? I—want—to—talk—to—Hailey—Potter!" Ron was yelling so loudly, Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear.

Vernon was looking at it with mixed fury and alarm. "Who is this?" he roared into the mouthpiece. "Who are you?"

"Ron—Weasley!" Ron bellowed back, as though he and Vernon were on opposite ends of a football field! "I'm—a—friend—of—Hailey's—from—school—"

Uncle Vernon had suddenly turned his small eyes around to Hailey, who felt rooted to her spot. "There is no Hailey Potter here!" He roared, holding the receiver at arm's length, as if frightened that it might explode or something. "I don't know what school you're talking about! Never contact me again! Don't you come near my family!" He threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if dropping a poisonous spider. He turned onto Hailey. "How dare you give this number to people like—people like _you_!" He sprayed Hailey with spit, "Especially to—to _boys_!"

She couldn't say anything to that, although she wished that Hermione Granger and Michael, who lived in the Muggle world most of their lives, would've called, since they knew how to use the telephone and probably had the sense not to yell or mention Hogwarts. Or at least Mandy Brocklehurst, who was introduced to the Muggle word at birth, despite living in the wizard world. Dudley had been giving her a rather nasty smile and asked, "Was that your slightly creepy looking boyfriend calling you?"

Michael, Ron, Mandy, and Hermione hadn't been in contact. Hailey expected Michael Corner to not keep in much contact, because he was probably grounded from their bought of rule-breaking and life-risking last term. Ron probably told Hermione, Michael, and Mandy not to call, since he figured that she had gotten in trouble over the disastrous phone call, which probably explained was why they hadn't attempted to call her.

For five weeks, Hailey hadn't got anything from them and she was beginning to think Dobby, the house-elf, was intercepting her letters again for some reason.

There was an upside, compared to last year. After promising not to use Hedwig to send messages to her friends, Uncle Vernon agreed to not lock Hedwig in her cage, after the disaster last summer where Hedwig made a racket.

Hailey finished writing about Wendelin the Weird, (who she strongly suspected was a Ravenclaw, due to nature of getting caught and being burnt at the stake repeatedly, because she loved it. That sounded like something a Ravenclaw would do.) She rolled up the parchment and paused to listen for any sounds of movement. The only thing she could hear was the grunting snores coming from Dudley.

 _It must be very late,_ Hailey realized as her eyes itched with tiredness. She stood up and stretched, her joints popping from sitting down for a long while. She walked over to her bed and crouched down. She grabbed and old pillowcase and went back to the desk. She gathered her supplies before going to a loose floorboard to lift it up, which she was sure, was created by Dudley in one of his tantrum-throwing fits.

She glanced at the alarm clock and jolted, seeing that it was one in the morning. She had been thirteen years old for an hour and she hadn't realized it.

She sighed, not looking forward to her birthday because she hadn't received any birthday cards or a cake, except for her eleventh birthday when Hagrid showed up to give her, her Hogwarts acceptance letter, however Dudley did go face-first in her cake. The Dursleys liked to pretend that she didn't have a birthday or even give her gifts. She did receive a pen from Uncle Vernon's drill company and some old holey socks that had once belonged to Dudley and Uncle Vernon, but those weren't given to her on her birthday or even Christmas. For the last two years, the Dursleys had ignored her birthday, so she expected that this year wouldn't be any different to them.

She was sure she got birthday cards for her twelfth birthday, but Dobby hadn't handed her those letters, even after she freed him. She walked to the window, past Hedwig's empty cage because Hedwig was gone for two days which wasn't unusual. She leaned on the window sill; the cool night air was pleasant to feel from working for three hours.

She was still skinny and petite for her age. She had grown at least an inch over the summer, so she was now five-five. Her tangled, auburn hair had also got a little longer, and her eyes were a hazel colour. On her forehead, just barely visible from her bangs was a thin, shaped lightning bolt scar that, despite what her aunt and uncle had her believing for a decade, didn't come from a car accident that orphaned her.

The scar actually came from a mass murdering Dark Wizard that went by the name Lord Voldemort, who killed Hailey's parents and tried to kill her. However, when Voldemort tried to kill Hailey, the spell rebounded and hit Voldemort instead. Barely alive, Voldemort fled…but for the past two years, she came across him again in Hogwarts. The first time was when he was living on the back of Professor Quirrell's head, her first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The second time was last term, when he was nothing but a mere memory living in a diary that Lucius Malfoy, father of her arch enemy, Draco Malfoy, had given Ginny Weasley, sister of Ron. The memory had leeched off of Ginny and gave Tom Riddle the life he wanted to return to power, but she and Michael had managed to fend off Tom and the basilisk that lived in the Chamber of Secrets that was under Hogwarts.

She supposed she was surprised to have made it to her thirteenth birthday. She looked at the starry night sky, looking for any sign of Hedwig, but she couldn't find the owl. She gazed over the rooftops and noticed, among the golden moon, there was a funny sort of silhouette. It looked large and seemed oddly lopsided. It looked like it was coming for her.

 _What is_ that _?_ Hailey wondered and considered closing her bedroom window to keep the…whatever it was…out.

The bizarre creature soared over a street lamp and Hailey jumped to the side after seeing what it was. Three owls swooped in, two of which, was holding up a third owl. The owls landed on her bed and the large, grey owl in the middle, holding a large package, keeled over immediately.

Hailey went over to check on the grey owl to make sure that it wasn't dead. The grey owl's name was Errol and he belonged to the Weasley family. After she noticed that Errol was still breathing, she hurriedly removed the cords that was around Errol's legs. She picked up Errol and stuck him in Hedwig's cage. Errol opened up one beady eye, hooted to show his thanks, and gulped down some water.

Hailey turned to the owls on her bed. The large and snowy white owl was Hedwig, who was holding a few parcels and looking proud of herself. There was a large tawny owl that Hailey didn't recognize, but she recognized the Hogwarts letter that it was holding.

Hailey removed the burden from Hedwig, who nipped her affectionately and flew off to the cage to join Errol. Hailey took the Hogwarts letter and the owl ruffled its feathers importantly, before flying off into the night. She sat down and picked up Errol's parcel. She ripped off the brown paper to discover something wrapped in gold and her first ever birthday card. Her heart was beating rapidly and her fingers shook as she opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out, which was a letter and a newspaper clipping. She picked up the newspaper clipping, smoothed it out, and looked it over.

 **MINSTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE  
** **SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE**

 _Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual_ Daily Prophet _Grand Prize Galleon Draw._

 _A delighted Mr Weasley told the_ Daily Prophet _, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."_

 _The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, retuning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend._

Hailey looked at the photograph, grinning widely, as all nine members of the Weasley family stood in front of a pyramid, waving at her. She got to finally see what Bill and Charlie looked like, after spending two years wondering what they looked like. She wasn't entirely sure which one was which, but either way, they were handsome. Tall, gangly looking Ron was in the center, with his pet rat, Scabbers sitting on his shoulder.

She was glad that Ron's family won money, because they deserved it, since they were extremely nice and also extremely poor. She picked up Ron's letter and read it.

 _Dear Hailey,_

 _Happy birthday!_

 _Look, I'm really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted._

 _It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's us around all tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff._

 _I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year._

Hailey remembered all too well when Ron's wand nearly snapped in half. It had been when they flew the Weasleys car to Hogwarts and smashed into the Whomping Willow. All year, Ron had to use a wand that backfired, because he thought that his mother would tell him it was his fault for flying a car to Hogwarts.

 _We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there?_

 _Don't let the Muggles get you down!_

 _Try and come to London,_

 _Ron_

 _P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week._

Hailey looked at the photograph and sure enough, she could see Percy looking particularly smug. He had a Head Boy badge pinned to his fez. Hailey set the letter aside and looked at the gold wrapped package and unwrapped it. Inside was a miniature glass top and there was another note from Ron. She looked at the glass top and picked up the note.

 _Hailey—this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says its rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had beetles in his soup._

 _Bye—_

 _Ron_

Hailey couldn't help but be disgusted at the thought of Fred and George putting beetles in Bill's soup. That was just disgusting. She hoped that someone pointed the beetles out to Bill before he started eating it. She set the Sneakoscope on the desk in front of her alarm clock which stayed still. The glowing numbers were reflected in the glass and she picked up a parcel. She opened it to see a letter, postcard, and a wrapped present from Hermione. She opened the letter.

 _Dear Hailey,_

 _Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right._

 _I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know I was going to see this to you—what if they'd opened it at customs?—but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present owl-order; there was an advertisement in the_ Daily Prophet _(I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world.) Did you see that picture of his Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's leaning loads. I'm really jealous—the ancient Egyptian wizards were fasticinating._

 _There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out. I hope it's not to long—its two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for._

 _Ron, Michael, and Mandy says that they're going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September first!_

 _Hermione_

 _P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased._

 _Ron doesn't seem too happy about it._

Hailey laughed and set the letter aside. She picked up Hermione's present, which was very heavy. She was positive that Hermione sent a large book with difficult spells in it, which she really wouldn't mind having. She ripped off the wrapping paper to see a sleek black letter case. In silver lettering the case read, _Broomstick Servicing Kit_.

"Wow, Hermione," Hailey whispered, unzipping the case to look inside.

There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on a broom for long journeys, and a _Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare_.

Apart from her friends, the Ravenclaw common room, the food, the entire castle, and the work, the other thing she missed most was Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical world—highly dangerous, very exciting, and played on broomsticks. She happened to be the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of the Hogwarts Hose teams. One of her most prized possessions was the Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom. Hailey set the leather case aside and picked up one of the parcels, which was from Mandy Brocklehurst, her friend and fellow Ravenclaw. She took off the wrapping paper to see a box. She removed the flaps and picked up a brush, which looked new and unused. There was also a tube of red lip gloss, eyeliner, and black nail polish. Hailey wondered why Mandy sent her makeup, but she set the makeup aside. She picked up Mandy's birthday card.

 _Hailey,_

 _I hope your aunt and uncle are treating you like the human being that you are._ _I hope that they sign the permission form so you can visit Hogsmeade with us._

 _I also wish you a very happy birthday._

 _Wishing you very good luck,_

 _Mandy_

Hailey opened the box from Michael and she took out five black beaded bracelets and saw a note. She looked at it and managed to read Michael's chicken-scratch handwriting. She saw that Michael's cousin, Eva, had made the bracelets for her. There was a simple silver chain necklace with a small circular pendant set with a silver letter H on a dark blue background. She put the necklace on and picked up the card from Michael. It was a simple store-bought birthday card with the words 'Happy Birthday' on it and Michael's signature under it.

She picked up the last parcel, which was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. She tore off the top layer of paper and saw something green and leathery. Before she can remove the rest of the wrapping paper, it gave a strange quiver and it snapped loudly, as if it had jaws.

Hailey held the thing at arms-length in surprise. She knew and hoped that Hagrid wouldn't have sent her something dangerous on purpose. She knew that Hagrid had a bit of a skewed perspective on what's dangerous and not dangerous. Hagrid had befriended giant spiders, bought a Cerberus from a man in a pub, and won an illegal dragon egg and hatched said egg in his wooden hut on school grounds.

Hailey poked the parcel nervously and it snapped loudly again. She ripped the rest of the wrapping paper off and out fell a book. Hailey looked at handsome green cover, emblazoned with a golden title: _The Monster Book of Monsters_. It flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab.

"What the…?" Hailey said as the book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled rapidly across the room. She followed after it trying to be stealthy. The book was hiding in the dark space under her desk and she hoped that the Dursleys were still asleep; she got down on her hands and knees. She reached towards the book, which snapped shut on her hand.

"Ouch!" She whispered shaking her hand as the book flapped past her, scuttling on it's covers. She scrambled around and threw herself forward. She managed to flatten it and she heard her uncle give a loud sleepy grunt in the room next door.

Hailey managed to clamp the struggling book tightly in her arms, noticing that Hedwig and Errol were watching her. She hurried to a chest of drawers and pulled out a belt and tightened it around the book. The _Monster Book_ shuddered angrily, but it could no longer flap and snap. She threw the book down on her bed and grabbed Hagrid's card. She looked at it.

 _Dear Hailey,_

 _Happy birthday!_

 _Think you might find this useful for next year._

 _Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you._

 _Hope the Muggles are treating you right._

 _All the best,_

 _Hagrid_

Hailey wondered why Hagrid thought that a biting book would be handy, but she put Hagrid's card next to Ron's, Hermione's, Mandy's, and Michael's cards, grinning widely. Now there was only one more letter left, which was the letter from Hogwarts. She felt dread in her stomach, knowing that it would be the permission slip to allow her to go to Hogsmeade. She had heard about Honeydukes a lot from Ron, who heard about it from Fred and George, and she knew that it was a wizarding village. She was sure she read somewhere that it was the only known wizarding village that didn't have Muggle settlers.

However, she knew that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia wouldn't sign the permission form. She went to the bed and picked up the letter. She opened the parchment and took out the first piece of parchment and looked at the letter.

 _Dear Miss Potter,_

 _Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock._

 _Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parents of guardian to sign._

 _A list of books for next year is enclosed._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Professor M. McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

Hailey took out the permission form, no longer smiling. She wasn't sure how she was even going to persuade her aunt or uncle to sign it. She looked over at the alarm clock to see that it was two in the morning. She decided to worry about the Hogsmeade form when she gets up. She gathered her presents and moved them to the desk. She also crossed off the chart that she made that counted down the days to Hogwarts and got into bed. She looked at the five birthday cards that she received and for the first time, she was actually glad that it was her birthday.


	2. Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

Hailey went down to breakfast the next morning to find the Dursleys already sitting around the kitchen table. They were watching a brand-new television, a welcome-home-for-the-summer present for Dudley. Dudley had been complaining loudly about the 'long' walk between the fridge and the television in the living room. Dudley had spent most of the summer in the kitchen, his little eyes fixed on the screen and his five chins wobbling as he ate continuously. Hailey wouldn't have been surprised if she placed a paper plate in Dudley's food and he ate it without noticing what it was.

She sat down between Dudley and Uncle Vernon, a large beefy man with very little neck a lot of mustache. They didn't even greet her a happy birthday or even acknowledged her presence, which she was used to. She helped herself to a piece of toast and then looked up at the reporter on the television, who was already halfway through a report. "…The public is warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A special hot line has been set up, and any sighting of Black should be reported immediately."

"No need to tell us he's no good," snorted Uncle Vernon, staring over the top of his newspaper at the picture of the escaped convict. "Look at the state of him, the filthy layabout! Look at his hair!" He shot Hailey a nasty look because her hair was the source of his annoyance. The joke was on him, because she actually somehow managed to brush her hair through the mass of tangles. Uncle Vernon then glanced down at the two ripped knees on Hailey's jeans, which was there when she got them. She was sure that they were made like that.

However the man on the television, who had a gaunt face surrounded by tangled, matted, elbow-length hair, Hailey felt well groomed compared to him.

The reporter appeared back on the screen, "The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce today—"

"Hang on!" Uncle Vernon barked, staring furiously at the reporter. "You didn't tell us where that maniac's escaped from! What use is that? Lunatic could be coming up the street right now!"

Aunt Petunia, who was bony and horse-faced, whipped around and peered intently out of the kitchen window. Hailey knew that Aunt Petunia would simply love to be the one to call the hot line number, since she was the nosiest woman in the world and spent most of her life spying on the boring, law-abiding neighbours.

"When will they learn that hanging's the only way to deal with these people?" asked Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his large purple fist. Hailey was positive that her uncle should see the doctor about his fist being purple.

"Very true," said Aunt Petunia, who was still squinting into the neighbour's runner beans.

Uncle Vernon drained his teacup, glanced at his watch, and said, "I'd better be off in a minute, Petunia. Marge's train gets in at ten."

Hailey, who was thinking about the Broomstick Service Kit, jolted at the thought. "Aunt Marge?" she blurted out. "Sh-she's not coming here, is she?"

Aunt Marge was Uncle Vernon's sister. She was not a blood relative of Hailey's, whose mother was Aunt Petunia's sister; Hailey had been forced to call Marge, 'Aunt'. Aunt Marge lived in a house in the country, that had a large garden, where she bred bulldogs. Marge didn't often stay at Privet Drive, because she couldn't bear to leave her precious dogs, but each of her visits stood out horribly vivid to Hailey.

On Dudley's fifth birthday party, Aunt Marge had whacked Hailey around the shins with her walking stick to stop Hailey from beating Dudley at musical statues. A few years later, she had turned up at Christmas with a computerized robot for Dudley and a box of dog biscuits for Hailey. On her last visit, the year before Hailey started at Hogwarts, she had accidentally trodden on the tail of Aunt Marge's favourite dog, Ripper. Ripper had chased Hailey out into the garden and up a tree and Aunt Marge had refused to call him off until it was past midnight. The memory of this incident still brought tears of laughter to Dudley's eyes. However, the only reason why Aunt Marge hated her because when Hailey was around five, one of Aunt Marge's dogs was chasing her, the dog's fur turned blue.

"Marge'll be here for a week," Uncle Vernon snarled, turning to face Hailey. "And while we're on the subject," he pointed a fat finger threateningly in Hailey's face, "we need to get a few things straight before I go and collect her."

Dudley smirked and withdrew his gaze from the television because watching Hailey being bullied by Uncle Vernon was Dudley's favourite form of entertainment.

"Firstly," growled Uncle Vernon, "you'll keep a civil tongue in your head when you're talking to Marge."

"All right," Hailey said bitterly, "If she does when she's talking to me."

"Secondly," said Uncle Vernon, as though he hadn't heard Hailey reply. "As Marge doesn't know anything about your abnormality, I don't want any—any funny stuff while she's here. You behave yourself, got me?"

"I will if she does," Hailey replied through gritted teeth.

"And thirdly," said Uncle Vernon, his mean little eyes now slits in his great purple face. "We've told Marge you that you attend Saint Mercy's Institution for Wayward Girls."

" _What_?" Hailey shouted in horror.

"And you'll be sticking to that story, girl, or there'll be trouble," spat Uncle Vernon.

Hailey sat there, white-faced and furious, staring at Uncle Vernon, hardly able to believe it. Aunt Marge coming for a week-long visit—it was the worst birthday present the Dursleys had ever given here, including that pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.

"Well, Petunia," said Uncle Vernon, getting heavily to his feet, "I'll be off to the station, then. Want to come along for the ride, Dudders?"

"No," said Dudley, whose attention had returned to the television now that Uncle Vernon had finished threatening Hailey.

"Duddy's got to make himself smart for his auntie," said Aunt Petunia, smoothing Dudley's thick blond hair. "Mummy's bought him a lovely bow tie."

Hailey wanted to say that watching that much television wasn't going to make him smart, especially if he's wearing a bow tie. Just two years ago, Dudley didn't know what thirty-seven plus two equaled.

Uncle Vernon clapped Dudley on his porky shoulder, "See you in a bit then." He left the kitchen.

Hailey had an idea and ran after her uncle to the front door.

Vernon was pulling on his car coat and he snarled at Hailey, "I'm not taking you."

"As if I wanted to come," Hailey replied back. "I wanted to ask you something." Her uncle eyed her suspiciously. "Third years at—at my school are allowed to visit the village sometimes."

Uncle Vernon took his car keys from a hook next to the door and snapped, "So?"

"I need you to sign the permission form," Hailey said in a rush.

"And why should I do that?" sneered Uncle Vernon.

Hailey had to choose her words carefully. "Well, it'll be hard work, pretending to Aunt Marge I go to that Saint Whatsits—"

"Saint Mercy's Institution for Wayward Girls!" bellowed Uncle Vernon and Hailey was sure to hear a definite note of panic in her uncle's voice.

"Exactly," said Hailey, trying to stay calm by looking up into her uncle's large, purple face. "It's a lot to remember. I'll have to make it sound convincing, won't I? What if I accidentally let something slip?"

"You'll get the stuffing knocked out of you, won't you?" roared Uncle Vernon, advancing on Hailey with his fist raised. Hailey almost scurried up the stairs, but she stood her ground, trying to summon up courage that she knew she had somewhere.

"Knocking the stuffing out of me won't make Aunt Marge forget what I could tell her," she said grimly. Uncle Vernon stopped, his fist raised, and his face an odd shade of red. "But if you sign my permission form," she added quickly, "I swear I'll remember where I'm supposed to go to school, and I'll like a—like I'm normal and everything."

Hailey could tell Uncle Vernon was thinking it over, even if his teeth were bared and a vein was throbbing in his temple.

"Right," he snapped finally. "I shall monitor your behaviour carefully during Marge's visit. If, at the end of it, you've toed the line and kept to the story, I'll sign your ruddy form." He wheeled around, pulled opened the front door, and slammed it so hard that one of the little panes of glass at the top fell out.

Hailey considered going back to the kitchen, but went back upstairs to her bedroom. If she was going to act like a Muggle, she'd better started now. Slowly and sadly, she gathered up all her presents and her birthday cards and hid them under the loose floorboard with her homework. She then went to Hedwig's cage where Errol and Hedwig were both asleep with their heads under their wings. Errol seemed to have recovered. She sighed and poked them both away.

"Hedwig," Hailey said. "You're going to have to clear off for a week. Go with Errol. Ron'll look after you. I'll write him a note, explaining." Hedwig's large amber eyes were reproachful. "And don't look at me like that. It's not my fault. It's the only way I'll be allowed to visit Hogsmeade with Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael."

Ten minutes later, Errol and Hedwig (with a note to Ron bound to her leg) were off. Hailey, feeling miserable, put the empty cage away inside the wardrobe.

It didn't seem long when she was sitting on her bed and staring at the wall, sulking, when she was shaken out of her sulking because Aunt Petunia was shrieking upstairs at her to get down and come welcome their guest. Hailey sighed and laced up her combat boots that she received about two weeks after she got back from Hogwarts. They were from a second-hand store, where Aunt Petunia gets most of Hailey's clothes from. Her old shoes had fallen apart. She came down and into the hall.

"Do something about your clothes!" Aunt Petunia snapped.

Hailey didn't see the point of straightening or changing her clothes. Aunt Marge loved criticizing her, so the more ruffled and messy she looked, the more Aunt Marge would be happy.

There was a crunch of gravel outside as Uncle Vernon pulled his car back into the driveway, then the clunk of the car doors and footsteps on the garden path.

"Get the door!" Aunt Petunia hissed at Hailey.

Hailey, feeling gloomy, pulled the door open.

On the threshold stood Aunt Marge, who was like Uncle Vernon, but in female clothes: large, beefy, and purple-faced. In one hand she held an enormous suitcase and tucked under the other was a jacket. At her feet was brown and white bulldog, which went by the name of Ripper. Hailey hated Ripper the most. "Where's my Dudders?" Aunt Marge roared. "Where's my neffy-poo?"

Dudley came waddling in, his blond hair plastered to his head, and a bow tie poking out through his chins.

Aunt Marge tossed the suitcase and jacket into Hailey's arms as if she was a very convenient bell-hop and coat rack. Aunt Marge seized Dudley into a one-armed hug and planted a kiss on Dudley's cheek.

Hailey knew that Dudley put up with Aunt Marge's hugs because he was paid for it and sure enough, when they broke apart, there was a twenty-pound note clutched in Dudley's fist. It was probably the only thing that that she and Dudley would ever agree on was that they disliked Aunt Marge. The only thing that Dudley liked about Aunt Marge was that she pays him, buys him presents, and bullies Hailey. Sometimes Dudley even egged Aunt Marge on, just to get more presents and more 'entertainment.'

"Petunia!" Aunt Marge shouted, striding past Hailey, as if she was a hat-stand. Aunt Marge bumped her large jaw against Aunt Petunia's bony cheekbone.

Uncle Vernon walked in the house, smiling jovially as he closed the door. "Tea, Marge?" he offered, "And what will Ripper take?"

"Ripper can have some tea out of my saucer." Aunt Marge said and Hailey was disgusted at the thought. They, minus Hailey, proceeded into the kitchen and she was left alone holding onto Aunt Marge's suitcase and jacket.

She wasn't go to complain, but it was better than being in the kitchen and possibly getting criticized by Aunt Marge over something and then there was that pretending thing about being sent to Saint Mercy's Institution for Wayward Girls.

She lugged Aunt Marge's suitcase and jacket up the stairs, stopping for a few minutes on each step, so she didn't have to be with Aunt Marge.

By the time she made it back to the kitchen, Aunt Marge had been supplied with tea and fruitcake. Ripper was lapping noisily in the corner and Hailey saw Aunt Petunia wince slightly as tea and drool flecked her clean floor. Hailey looked at Aunt Petunia, slightly disgusted and Aunt Petunia gave a slight nod. It was a moment of camaraderie and Hailey wanted to savour the moment.

"Who's looking after the other dogs, Marge?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"Oh, I got Colonel Fubster managing them," boomed Aunt Marge. "He's retired now, good for him to have something to do. But I couldn't leave poor old Ripper. He pines if he's away from me."

Hailey sat down as Ripper began to growl, which got Aunt Marge's attention, who turned to face Hailey. "So!" she barked, "still here, are you?"

"Yes," Hailey responded darkly.

"Don't you say 'yes' in that ungrateful tone," Aunt Marge growled. "It's damn good of Vernon and Petunia to keep you. Wouldn't have done it myself. You'd have gone straight to an orphanage if you'd been dumped on my doorstep."

Hailey held back on saying that she would rather live in an orphanage than live with Vernon and Petunia, but the thought of visiting Hogsmeade with her friends forced her to painfully smile instead.

"Don't you smirk at me!" Aunt Marge boomed. "I can see you haven't improved since I last saw you. I hope school knocked some manners into you."

Hailey wanted to say that she had certainly improved in the three years since they last saw each other, while watching Aunt Marge take a large gulp of tea, before wiping her upper lip off with her hand. She asked, "Where is it that you send her, again, Vernon?"

"Saint Mercy's," Vernon said, instantly. "It's a first-rate institution for troubled girls."

Aunt Marge nodded, "I see." She looked across the table at Hailey. "Do they use a paddle at Saint Mercy's, girl?"

Hailey faltered, "Er—" she noticed Uncle Vernon, who was standing behind Aunt Marge, giving her a curt nod. She blinked, "Yes." She figured she would go the extra mile, "Frequently." She added, "And every morning, we're forced to wash the floors with sponges for five hours." She thought about it, "Before we eat breakfast."

"Excellent," Aunt Marge said. "I don't want any namby-pamby, wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people when they deserve it or overloading on chores. A good thrashing and lots of chores is what's needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. Have _you_ been punished often?"

"Oh, yeah," Hailey stated, "loads of times."

Aunt Marge narrowed her eyes at Hailey. "I don't like your tone, girl. If you can speak of your punishments in that casual way, they clearly aren't punishing you hard enough. Petunia, I'd write if I were you. Make it clear that you approve the use of extreme measures in this girl's case."

Hailey was sure that she didn't want to know what Aunt Marge had in mind by ' _extreme measures_ ' and was a little terrified at the thought.

"Heard the news this morning, Marge? What about that escaped convict, eh?" Uncle Vernon asked, changing the subject.

Hailey was sure that he changed the subject because he thought that she might forget their bargain.

* * *

As Aunt Marge had started to make herself at home, Hailey thought of life at Privet Drive without Marge. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon usually wanted Hailey out of their way, but Aunt Marge wanted Hailey under her eye at all times, so she can boom out suggestions for her improvement, like, "Stop slouching!", "Stand up straight!", "Brush your hair!", "Straighten your clothes!", "Buy regular shoes!", "Don't smirk!", and "Go help your aunt with the food!"

Aunt Marge often delighted in comparing Hailey to Dudley. To outsiders, it would probably be confusing how a person can compare a guy and girl because of obvious differences, but Aunt Marge didn't have trouble finding comparisons, "Girl, do you see how big Dudley is? That's what a strong person should look like," or "Look at yourself, girl. You're looking runty. Take a look at Dudley. He's like an angel. He's what an angel should look like," and Aunt Marge once said, "Look at Dudders. He's polite. You're not. I expected Saint Mercy's to knock some manners and politeness into you." Aunt Marge had handed Dudley a ten-pound note, as Dudley said 'excuse me' after belching loudly. Hailey knew that Dudley was being polite because Aunt Marge paid him for it.

"Look at Dudders. He's nice and polite. You're just a mean looking delinquent," Aunt Marge stated, looking with disgust at Hailey's combat boots, stained skinny jeans, and slightly messy hair.

Hailey bit back all the stories of Dudley bullying other kids, but knowing Aunt Marge, she would probably take that as Dudley showing authority over everyone. She didn't know when Dudley told Aunt Marge, but Dudley had mentioned that Hailey had a creepy looking boyfriend named Michael, who goes to Saint Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. Dudley took it upon himself on coming up a lot of stories about what Michael supposedly done to get sent to Saint Brutus's, like setting fire to a building or constantly stealing, and telling Aunt Marge that Hailey and Michael usually get into a lot of trouble for meeting up and wandering off together, whenever Saint Mercy's supposedly visited their 'brother-institute.'

Aunt Marge also took huge pleasure in lavishing gifts on Dudley, saying ridiculous stuff like, "Sweet boy" and kept glaring at Hailey, as if daring her to ask why she wasn't getting a present too. Aunt Marge also threw out dark hints about what made Hailey such an unsatisfactory person. "She smirks to much!", "She's always brooding!", "She's impolite", and "She's weak and pathetic!"

On the third day, over lunch, Aunt Marge said, "You mustn't blame yourself for the way the girl's turned out, Vernon. If there's something rotten on the _inside_ , there's nothing anyone can do about it."

Hailey felt her face burning in anger and tried to concentrate on her food, but her hands were shaking. _Remember the form_ , she told herself. _Think about Hogsmeade. Don't say anything. Don't rise—_

Aunt Marge reached for her glass of wine. "It's one of the basic rules of breeding. You see it all the time with dogs. If there's something wrong with the bitch, there'll be something wrong with the pup—"

The wineglass exploded, sending shards of glass flying in every direction. Aunt Marge sat there, sputtering and blinking, her ruddy face dripping with wine. Hailey felt her heart sped up in slight horror. If Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia knew she caused it, she could kiss her chance of visiting Hogsmeade goodbye.

"Marge!" squealed Aunt Petunia. "Marge? Are you all right?"

"Not to worry," Aunt Marge grunted, wiping her face off with her napkin. "Must have squeezed it too hard. Did the same thing at Colonel Fubster's the other day. No need to fuss, Petunia, I have a very firm grip…"

However, Petunia and Vernon were looking at Hailey suspiciously. She decided to save them the trouble by excusing herself from the table to skip dessert.

In the hall, she leaned against the cupboard door, breathing heavily. It had been a long time she had lost control of her magic and made something happen. She knew she couldn't afford to do it again, because not only was the Hogsmeade form at stake—she would be in trouble with the Ministry of Magic, again.

She was still an underage witch and was forbidden to do magic outside of school. Her record wasn't exactly clean either, since last summer she got in trouble because Dobby, the house-elf, did magic. She got an official warning, saying that she would get expelled if they got wind of more magical happenings in Privet Drive.

She heard the Dursleys and Aunt Marge leave the table, so she hurried up the stairs, and to her room. She needed to throw herself on her bed, bury her face in her pillow, and have a nice, long scream.

* * *

Hailey got through the next three days by thinking of the _Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare_ , whenever Aunt Marge started criticizing Hailey or started comparing her to Dudley. It worked on tuning out Aunt Marge, but it resulted in giving Hailey a glazed look, which resulted in Aunt Marge calling her subnormal.

At long last, the finale evening of Aunt Marge's stay came. Aunt Petunia had made Hailey dress up in nice clothing, to leave an impression on Aunt Marge.

Hailey was made to wear a white frilly skirt, a black undershirt, purple ankle-length tights, silver sandal wedges, a silver bow on top of her head, and two fake pearl necklaces. She even put on the red lip-gloss and the purple watch. Her aunt had made Hailey put her hair into a pony-tail, but had made her keep her bangs to hide her 'foul' scar. At least she wasn't the only one dressed up, as Dudley was, too.

Aunt Petunia had made a fancy dinner and Uncle Vernon uncorked several bottles of wine.

Hailey was relieved to make it through the salmon and soup, without any trouble. When they ate the lemon meringue pie, Uncle Vernon bored them all with a long talk about Grunnings, his drill-making company. Aunt Petunia made coffee and Uncle Vernon pulled out a bottle of brandy.

Vernon asked, "Can I tempt you, Marge?"

Hailey wasn't sure if that would be a good idea, since Aunt Marge, who was very red in the face.

"Just a small one, then," Marge chuckled. Uncle Vernon poured out a little bit of brandy into Marge's glass. "A bit more than that…" Uncle Vernon poured out more brandy, giving Marge half-full. "…and a bit more…" Uncle Vernon poured out more brandy till is was nearly full. "That's the ticket."

Hailey glanced around the table, where Dudley was on his fourth slice of pie and Aunt Petunia was sipping her coffee with here little finger sticking out. Hailey glanced at the door, wanting to go to her room. She noticed Uncle Vernon glaring at her and she knew she had to stick it out.

Hailey watched as Aunt Marge drained the brandy.

"Aah," Aunt Marge said, smacking her lips and putting the empty glass down, "Excellent nosh, Petunia. It's normally just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after." She burped richly and patted her tweed stomach. "Pardon me. But I do to see a healthy-sized boy," she winked at Dudley. "You'll be a proper-sized man, Dudders, like your father." Uncle Vernon held up the brandy bottle. "Yes, I'll have a spot more brandy, Vernon…" Vernon went to pour more brandy, and Aunt Marge jerked her head towards Hailey. "Now this girl here—"

Hailey gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on her fork. Her stomach clenched and she thought, _The Handbook_.

"Has a mean, runty look about her," Aunt Marge continued. "You get that with dogs. I had Colonel Fubster drown one last year. Ratty little thing, it was. Weak. Underbred."

Hailey tried to remember page twelve of her book: _A Charm to Cure Reluctant Reversers_.

"It all comes down to blood, as I was saying the other day. Bad blood will out. Now, I'm saying nothing against your family, Petunia—" Aunt Marge patted Aunt Petunia's hand, "but your sister was a bad egg. They turn up in the best families. Then she ran off with a wastrel and here's the result right in front of us."

Hailey stared at her plate, a funny ringing in her ears. She was trying to remember the passage, but her anger towards Aunt Marge was distracting her. She couldn't recall what Aunt Marge said next, but she kept on ranting. "This Potter, you never told me what he did?"

Hailey looked up, ready to make up something, but she noticed Dudley was gaping at his parents, while Vernon and Petunia looked tense.

"He—didn't work," said Uncle Vernon, glancing at Hailey. "Unemployed."

"As I expected!" said Aunt Marge, taking a huge swig of brandy and wiping her chin on her sleeve. "A no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger who—"

"He was not!" Hailey suddenly shouted, having enough of Marge complaining about her family or her. She was shaking, angry than she ever felt before. The table went silent.

"More brandy?" yelled Uncle Vernon, going white. He emptied the bottle in Aunt Marge's glass and looked at Hailey. "You, girl," he snarled. "Got to bed, go on—"

"No, Vernon," hiccupped Aunt Marge, holding up a hand. Her bloodshot eyes fixed on Hailey's. "Go on, girl, go on. Proud of your parents, are you? They go and get themselves killed in a car crush, drunk, I expect—"

"They didn't die in a car crash!" shouted Hailey, jumping to her feet.

"They died in a car crash, you nasty little liar, and left you to be a burden on their decent, hardworking relatives!" screamed Aunt Marge, swelling with fury. "You are an insolent, ungrateful little b—" she stopped speaking, as if words failed her.

Hailey noticed that Aunt Marge seemed to be swelling with inexpressible anger—but it didn't stop. Aunt Marge's red face started to expand, her eyes bulged, her mouth stretched too tightly for speech—several buttons had burst from her tweed jacket and pinged off the walls. The cuckoo clock started going off and a button even hit Dudley in the forehead, causing him to fall to the side, out of his seat.

To Hailey's horror, Aunt Marge was swelling like some sort of monstrous balloon; her stomach was bursting free from her waistband, each of her fingers blowing up like salami—

"Marge!" yelled Uncle Vernon and Aunt Marge together; as Aunt Marge's whole body began to rise off her chair towards the ceiling. She was round, now, like a vast life buoy, and her hands and feet stuck out weirdly as she drifted up in the air, making apoplectic popping noises. Ripper came skidding into the room, barking madly.

"No!" Uncle Vernon shouted, dragging the word out, as he seized one of Marge's feet and tried to pull her down again, but Ripper ran over and bit Uncle Vernon's leg.

Aunt Marge hit the ceiling and bounced down. She somehow managed to tip upside down and out the sliding glass door.

Uncle Vernon limped to the door because Ripper was still hanging onto his leg.

Hailey ran from the dining room, as best and as fast as she can in the wedges, and the closet burst open by magic. She grabbed the trunk and pulled it to the front door. She stumbled upstairs and to her room. She lifted the floorboard, grabbed the pillowcase filled with her unfinished homework and presents. She grabbed the birthday cards and her combat boots, which she shoved in the pillowcase, grabbed Hedwig's cage, and tromped downstairs. She chucked the stuff in her hands in the trunk, minus Hedwig's cage, and Vernon ran in. She grabbed her wand.

"Come back in here!" he bellowed. "Come back and put her right!"

Hailey pointed her wand at Vernon. "She deserved it! She deserved what she got! You keep away from me!" She opened the door and grabbed her trunk. "I'm going. I've had enough." She walked outside into the dark quiet street, heaving her heavy trunk behind, and holding Hedwig's cage in the other.

* * *

A/N: Dudley saying that Michael goes to Saint Brutus's Institution for Incurably Criminal Boys is a reference to Vernon telling Harry to pretend that he goes there.


	3. The Knight Bus

Hailey managed to get several streets away, before she sat on a low wall in Magnolia Crescent, panting from the effort of dragging her trunk. She sat there, still angry over what happened; her heart was thumping madly.

She rubbed her forehead, and took deep breaths trying to calm down. She just couldn't sit there, listening to Aunt Marge ranting and raving about her parents, especially since she doesn't know the truth. She didn't know why Aunt Petunia sat there and allowed Aunt Marge to insult her sister. Granted, Hailey wouldn't stick up for Dudley if someone insulted him as Dudley never stuck up for Hailey when people bullied her. She tightened the bow on her head as her heartbeat started to get back to normal. She looked at her watched and noticed that ten minutes had passed, along with the anger. The events of what happened dawned on her.

She inflated Aunt Marge! She used magic when she wasn't supposed to! She had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, she was slightly surprised that the Ministry of Magic representatives weren't swooping down on her from where she sat. She shivered and looked up and down Magnolia Crescent. _What's going to happen to me? Would I be arrested or would I be outlawed from the wizard world? Would they throw me in Azkaban?_ She shuddered at the thought and her heart had started thumping fast again. She knew Azkaban was a prison for wizards out in the middle of the sea somewhere.

She wasn't sure what to do. Hermione, Ron, Mandy, and Michael would probably help her, but Hermione and Ron where abroad. She had no clue where Mandy and Michael lived, and she didn't have Hedwig with her to communicate with them. She didn't have any Muggle money and she barely had wizarding gold left in a bag at the bottom, but the rest was in a vault in Gringotts that was in London. She wouldn't be able to drag her trunk all the way to London and she certainly wasn't able to afford a ride. Chances were that the police would show up and ask her what she was doing out. There were also people out there that would probably kidnap her or something.

She couldn't sit around on the wall forever. Maybe she can look through a book to see if there's anything useful in there or maybe she can use her father's Invisibility Cloak, use a spell to make her trunk feather-light, and use her broomstick to fly to London, get inside Gringotts, and start her new life as an outcast. She decided to look through her trunk and started to move some stuff around to search for a book that might be useful for her predicament, when she got a funny prickling feeling, which caused her to straighten up, her heart thumping madly, once again.

 _Is someone going to kidnap me?_ Hailey thought, shivering, and looking around. The street appeared to be deserted and no lights were on in the houses. She clenched her wand and looked around, trying to _find_ the source. She turned around, seeing a slightly darker mass hiding in the gap between the garage and the fence behind her. She couldn't tell if it was a stray cat or…something else. She looked at her wand and decided that it couldn't hurt to use a spell if she was already expelled. Since there were no Muggles around, as far as she can see anyway, she whispered, " _Lumos_ ," and a light appeared at the tip of her wand, almost blinding her. She held her wand up and looked at number two. The garage door sparkled and she saw the person…no… _thing_ , which was quite distinctly huge. It had large, wide gleaming eyes.

Hailey stepped backwards, stumbling over her trunk. She fell backwards right onto the trunk and her wand fell right out of her hand. There was a deafening _BANG_ and a blinding light, which caused her to close her eyes and shield them from it with her hands. She opened her eyes and lowered her hands to look up at a violently purple, triple-decker bus, which seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Hailey momentarily wondered if she really fell into the gutter and hit her head on the road, instead of falling onto her trunk.

A conductor in a purple uniform jumped out and began speaking loudly, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve—" he stopped abruptly. He just caught sight of Hailey, who was still sitting on the trunk.

Hailey grabbed her wand off the ground and stood up. She can see that Stan was probably a few years older than her, maybe eighteen or nineteen, and he had large protruding ears and pimples.

"What were you doing down there?" Stan asked, dropping his professional manner.

Hailey, somewhat disgruntled, said, "I fell over."

Stan started sniggering and asked, "'Choo fall over for?"

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Hailey responded, annoyed. She wiped off her skirt and remembered what she had been looking at before she stumbled over. She turned around to look at the alley, since the Knight Bus was now flooding the area with light, but the thing was gone.

"'Choo looking at?" Stan asked.

"There was a big black thing," answered Hailey, pointing at the area, feeling a little uncertain. "Like a dog…but massive…" She turned around to look at Stan, whose mouth was slightly open. She noticed how Stan's eyes moved to her forehead, and she started feeling uneasy.

"Woss that on your 'ead?" Stan asked abruptly.

"Nothing," Hailey said quickly, smoothing her bangs down. If the Ministry of Magic was possibly looking for her, she didn't want it to be easy for them to find her.

"Woss your name?" Stan questioned.

"I'm Lily," Hailey said and paused, "Taylor. Lily Taylor. So—so this bus," she added wanting to distract Stan, "did you say it can go _anywhere_?"

"Yep," Stan said proudly, "anywhere you like, long it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater. 'ere," Stan suddenly looked suspicious, "you _did_ flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and, dincha?"

"Yes," Hailey replied quickly. "Listen, how much would it be to get to London?"

"Eleven Sickles," answered Stan, "but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot water bottle an' a toofbrush in the colour of your choice."

Hailey opened her trunk and rummaged through it, finding the bag with the wizard money in it. She handed Stan a few Galleons so she can get hot chocolate, before helping Stan lift the trunk with Hedwig's cage on top, inside the bus.

To Hailey's surprise, there weren't any seats, but were instead half a dozen brass beds, beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-paneled walls. There was a tiny wizard in a nightcap at the rear of the bus, muttering, "Not now, thanks, I'm pickling some slugs," and he rolled over in his sleep.

"You 'ave this one," Stan whispered, shoving Hailey's trunk under the bed right behind the driver, who was sitting in an armchair in front of the steering wheel. "This is our driver, Ernie Prang. This is Lily Taylor, Ern."

Ernie, an elderly wizard, who was wearing very think glasses, nodded to Hailey, who nervously flattened her bangs again, before she sat down on the bed.

"Take 'er away, Ern," said Stan, sitting down in the armchair next to Ernie's.

There was another loud _BANG_ , and Hailey found herself flat on her bed, having been thrown backward by the speed of the Knight Bus. Pulling herself up, Hailey stared out of the dark window and saw they were now trundling along a different street. Hailey was actually kind of stunned.

"This is where we was before you flagged us down," said Stan. "Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales?"

 _We're in Wales_? Hailey thought, surprised to hear that.

"Ar," Ernie replied.

"How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?" asked Hailey, interested in the thought.

"Them!" said Stan contemptuously. "Don' listen properly, do they? Don' look properly either. Never notice nuffink, they don'." Hailey nodded anyway.

"Best go wake up Madam Marsh, Stan," said Ern. "We'll be in Abergavenny in a minute."

Stan walked past Hailey's bed and up a narrow wooden staircase. Hailey looked out the window, growing nervous, since it seemed like Ernie hadn't quite mastered the art of using a steering wheel because he just drove up onto the pavement.

Miraculously lampposts, mailboxes, and rubbish bins jumped out of the way, startling Hailey when they jumped back into place.

There was footsteps on the stairs and Hailey turned to see Stan, holding a bag and leading a green tinted witch who was wrapped in a traveling cloak.

Ernie stamped on the brakes, causing the beds to move a foot or two towards the front of the bus.

Madam Marsh held a handkerchief to her mouth as she stepped off the bus and Stan threw the bag out, before there was another _BANG_ and they were thundering down a country lane, this times, the trees were jumping out of the way.

Hailey would've liked to fall asleep, but she couldn't quite get used to the moving and the loud BANGs when they took off, however that didn't seem to bother that one sleeping wizard. Besides that, she was worried about what would happen to her and if the Dursleys managed to track down Aunt Marge and if they somehow managed to deflate her. She noticed Stan unfolding a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and started reading it with his tongue between his teeth. A large photograph of a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at Hailey from the front page. In a way, he looked familiar and it took a moment for Hailey to remember. "That man!" Hailey shouted, pointing at the picture, momentarily forgetting about her worries. "He was on the Muggle news!"

Stanley turned to look at the front page and chuckled. "Sirius Black," he nodded. "'Course 'e was on the Muggle news, Lily, where you been?"

 _Living with a terrible aunt and uncle,_ Hailey thought, as Stan gave a superior sort of chuckle at the blank look on Hailey's face, removed the front page, and handed it to her.

"You oughta read the papers more, Lily," Stan said as Hailey took the page.

"Thanks," Hailey said and held the page to the candlelight to read it.

 **BLACK STILL AT LARGE**

 _Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today._

" _We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

 _Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

" _Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it—who'd believe him if he did?"_

 _While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse._

Hailey looked at the picture of Sirius Black again. She looked at Sirius's shadowed eyes, which seemed to be the only thing that seemed alive. She never met a vampire before, but she had seen pictures of them in her Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one.

"Scary-lookin' fing, inee?" asked Stan, who had been watching Hailey read.

"He murdered _thirteen people_?" asked Hailey, slightly incredulous, handing the page back to Stan, "with _one curse_?"

"Yep," replied Stan, "in front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?"

"Ar," replied Ern darkly.

Stan swiveled in his armchair, his hands on the back, the better to look at Hailey. "Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo."

Hailey's mind still on the massacre, without thinking, she said, "what, Voldemort?"

Stan's pimples went white and Ernie had jerked the steering wheel so hard that a whole farmhouse had to jump aside to avoid the bus.

"You outta your tree?" yelped Stan. "'Choo say 'is name for?"

"Sorry," Hailey said hasily. "Sorry, I—I forgot—"

"Forgot!" said Stan weakly. "Blimey, my 'eart's goin' that fast…"

"So—so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?" Hailey prompted apologetically. She was feeling bad for giving Stan a fright like that.

"Yeah," answered Stan, rubbing his chest. "Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-'Oo they say. Anyway, when little 'Ailey Potter got the better of You-Know-'Oo—" Hailey nervously flattened her bangs down again. "—all You-Know-'Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern?" Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad taken over. Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" Stan continued in a dramatic whisper.

Hailey got a weird sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and asked, "what?"

" _Laughed_ ," said Stan. "Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wiv 'em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cose 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"

"If he weren't when he wentto Azkaban, he will be now," said Ern, in a slow voice. "I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you…after what he did…"

"They 'ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, En?" questioned Stan. "'Ole street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said 'ad 'appened, Ern?"

"Gas explosion," grunted Ernie.

"An' now 'e's out," said Stan, looking at the newspaper picture of Black's gaunt face again. "Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, 'as there, Ern? Beats me 'ow' 'e did it. Frightenin' eh?" Mind, I don't fancy 'is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh, Ern?"

Hailey and Ern both shivered.

"Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles," Ernie said and Hailey nodded in agreement.

Stan put the paper away and Hailey leaned against the window of the Knight Bus, feeling worse than ever. She couldn't help but imagine what Stan might be telling his passengers in a few nights' time.

"'Ear about that 'Ailey Potter? Blew up 'er aunt! We 'ad 'er 'er on the Knight Bus, di'n't we, Ern? 'he was tryin' to run for it…"

Hailey wasn't sure if inflating her aunt was bad enough to get her sent to Azkaban. She knew all about the guards and last term, Hagrid had gotten sent there for two months. She remembered the look of terror on Hagrid's face when he was told he was going there, and he was one of the bravest people she knew.

The Knight Bus rolled through, scattering bushes, wastebaskets, telephone booths, and trees. Hailey decided to lie down on the feather bed, feeling restless and miserable. She wasn't sure how long it took, maybe ten or twenty minutes, when it seemed like Stan finally remembered that she wanted hot chocolate. He ended up pouring it over the pillow when the bus abruptly moved from Anglesea to Aberdeen.

One by one, wizards and witches in dressing gowns and slippers descended from the upper floors to leave the bus. They all looked pleased to go, not that Hailey blamed them, and she was positive that she was the only passenger left.

"Right, then, Lily," Stan said, clapping his hands, "whereabouts in London?"

"Diagon Alley," Hailey responded.

"Righto," said Stan. "'Old tight, then…"

 _BANG_!

They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Hailey sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus's way. The sky was getting a little light. She would lie low for a couple of hours, go to Gringotts once it opened, then set off—where, she wasn't sure yet.

Ern stepped on the brakes, and the bus skidded to a halt in front of the small and shabby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron. Behind the Leaky Cauldron lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Thanks," Hailey said to Ern. She helped Stan lower her trunk and Hedwig's cage to the pavement. "Well…'bye then!"

Stan wasn't paying attention because he staring at the shadowy entrance of the pub.

" _There_ you are, Hailey," said a voice.

Before Hailey could turn, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Blimey! Ern, come 'ere! Come ' _ere_!" Stan shouted.

Hailey looked up at the owner of the hand only to see that she walked into Cornelius Fudge, the Ministry of Magic himself.

Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them. "What didja call Lily, Minister?" he sounded excited.

Fudge, who was portly, was wearing a long, pinstriped cloak, looked cold and exhausted. He was frowning, "Lily? This is Hailey Potter."

"I knew it!" Stan shouted gleefully. "Ern! Ern! Guess 'oo Lily is, Ern! 'He's 'Ailey Potter! I can see 'er scar!"

"Yes," said Fudge testily, "Well, I'm very glad the Knight Bus picked Hailey up, but she and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron now…"

Fudge increased the pressure on Hailey's shoulder, and Hailey found herself being steered inside the pub. A stooping figure, bearing a lantern, appeared through the door behind the bar. It was Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord.

"You've got her, Minister!" said Tom. "Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?"

"Perhaps a pot of tea," said Fudge, who still hadn't let go of Hailey's shoulder.

Hailey wondered about her trunk and Hedwig's cage, when there was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them. Hailey turned to look to see that Stan and Ern were carrying her trunk and Hedwig's cage. They were looking around excited.

"'Ow come you di'n't tell us 'oo you are, eh, Lily?" asked Stan, beaming at Hailey, while Ernie's owlish face peered interestedly over Stan's shoulder.

"And a _private_ parlour, please, Tom," said Fudge pointedly.

"'Bye," Hailey told Stan and Ernie miserably, as Tom beckoned Fudge toward the passage that led from the bar.

"'Bye, Lily!" called Stan.

Fudge marched Hailey along the narrow passage after Tom's lantern, and then into a small parlour. Tom clicked his fingers, a fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the room.

"Sit down, Hailey," said Fudge, indicating a chair by the fire.

Hailey sat down, feeling goose bumps rising up along her arms despite the glow of the fire. Fudge took off his pinstriped cloak and tossed it aside, then hitched up the trousers of his bottle-green suit and sat down opposite Hailey.

She noticed that she didn't seem to out of place, considering that she was wearing purple ankle length tights, the silver sandal wedges, the frilly white skirt, the black undershirt, and she had a giant bow in her hair.

Fudge said, "I am Cornelius Fudge, Hailey. The Ministry of Magic."

Hailey knew who he was, because she seen him once last term, when she was under her dad's Invisibility Cloak. However, Fudge doesn't need to know that.

Tom reappeared, this time wearing an apron over his nightshirt and holding a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the tray on a table that was between Hailey and Fudge, before leaving, closing the door to the parlour.

"Well, Hailey," Fudge started, pouring out tea, "you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think…but you're safe, and that's what matters." He buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate toward Hailey. "Eat, Hailey, you look dead on your feet."

Hailey grabbed a crumpet and buttered it, even though her hands were shaking. She was growing rather hungry, since she hadn't eaten anything since that disastrous dinner, hours ago.

Fudge continued, "Now then…You will be pleased to hear that we dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley. Two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Miss Dursley had been punctured and her memory modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that's that and no harm done."

Fudge smiled at Hailey over the rim of his teacup. Hailey couldn't believe her ears, opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say, closed it again.

"Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?" said Fudge, "Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Hailey, but they are prepared to take you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays."

Hailey managed to say, "I _always_ stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays." She added, "and I don't ever want to go back to Privet Drive."

"Now, now, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've calmed down," said Fudge in a worried tone. "They are your family, after all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other—er— _very_ deep down."

Hailey didn't bother pointing out that wasn't true, but she was anxiously waiting to hear what would happen to her now.

"So all that remains," started Fudge, buttering himself another crumpet, "is to decide where you're going to spend the last two weeks of your holiday. I suggest you take a room here at the Leaky Cauldron and—"

"What about my punishment?" Hailey blurted out.

Fudge blinked, "punishment?"

"I broke the law," Hailey pointed out, "the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry."

"Oh, my dear girl, we're not going to punish your for a little thing like that!" cried Fudge, waving his crumpet impatiently. "It was an accident! We don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts!"

Hailey frowned, knowing it didn't add up with her past dealings with the Ministry of Magic. "Last year, I got an official warning just because a house-elf smashed a pudding in my uncle's house. The Ministry of Magic said I'd be expelled from Hogwarts if there was any more magic there!"

Hailey noticed how Fudge looked awkward and wondered if her eyes were deceiving her. "Circumstances change, Hailey…We have to take into account…in the present climate…Surely you don't _want_ to be expelled?"

"Of course I don't," replied Hailey, as if that was a stupid thing to ask her.

"Well, then, what's all the fuss about?" Fudge laughed. "Now have another crumpet, Hailey, while I go and see if Tom's got a room for you."

Fudge strode out of the parlour and Hailey stared after him. She was positive that something was odd going on. Why had Fudge been waiting for her at the Leaky Cauldron, if not to punish her for what she'd done? Now that Hailey came to think of it, surely it wasn't usual for the Minister of Magic _himself_ to get involved in matters of underage magic? Hailey wondered what did Fudge started to think happened to her after she ran away from the Dursleys anyway?

Fudge returned, accompanied by Tom.

"Room eleven's free, Hailey," said Fudge. "I think you'll be very comfortable. Just one thing, and I'm sure you'll understand…I don't want you wandering off into Muggle London, all right? Keep to Diagon Alley. And you're to be back before dark each night. Sure you'll understand. Tom will be keeping an eye of you for me."

Hailey said slowly, "Okay, but why—?"

"Don't want to lose you again, do we?" Fudge interrupted with a hearty laugh. "No, no…best we know where you are…I mean…" he cleared his throat loudly and picked up his pinstriped cloak. "Well, I'll be off, plenty to do, you know…"

"Have you had any luck with Black yet?" Hailey asked, curious.

Fudge's finger slipped on the silver fastening of his cloak. "What's that? Oh, you've heard—well, no, not yet, but it's only a matter of time. The Azkaban guards have never yet failed…and they are angrier than I've ever seen them." He shuddered slightly. "So, I'll say good-bye." He held out his hand and Hailey, shaking it, had a sudden idea.

"Er—Minister? Can I ask you something?" Hailey asked.

"Certainly," said Fudge with a smile.

"Well, third years at Hogwarts are allowed to visit Hogsmeade, but my aunt and uncle didn't sign the permission form. D'you think you could—?"

"Ah," Fudge said, looking uncomfortable. "No, no, I'm very sorry, Hailey, but as I'm not your parent or guardian—"

"But you're the Minister of Magic," Hailey interrupted. "If you gave me permission—"

"No, I'm sorry, Hailey, but rules are rules," responded Fudge flatly. "Perhaps you'll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year. In fact, I think it's best if you don't…yes…well, I'll be off. Enjoy your stay, Hailey." With a last smile and shake of Hailey's hand, Fudge left the room.

Tom moved forward, beaming at Hailey. "If you'll follow me, Miss Potter, I've already taken your things up…"

Hailey followed Tom up a handsome wooden staircase to a door with a brass number eleven on it, which Tom unlocked and opened for her.

Inside was a very comfortable-looking bed, some highly polished oak furniture, a cheerfully crackling fire, and perched on top of the wardrobe—

"Hedwig!" Hailey gasped, and held out her arm. The snowy owl clicked her beak and fluttered down onto Hailey's arm.

"Very smart owl you've got there." chuckled Tom, "Arrived about five minutes after you did. If there's anything you need, Miss Potter, don't hesitate to ask." He gave another bow and left the room.

Hailey sat on the bed for a long time, absentmindedly stroking Hedwig. The sky outside the window was changing rapidly from deep, velvety blue to cold, steely grey, and then, slowly, to pink shot with gold. In a way, she couldn't believe that only a few hours ago, she ran away from the Dursleys, that she wasn't expelled, and she was now facing two Dursley-free weeks. "It's been a weird night, Hedwig," she said to the owl. She slumped back on the pillows, knowing that something didn't just add up right, and promptly fell asleep before she can think it over.


	4. The Leaky Cauldron

A/N: Mackenzie Foy is the face-claim for Evangeline, while Max Burkholder is the face-claim for Michael.

* * *

It took a few days for Hailey to get used to her newfound freedom. She had never been able to get up whenever she wanted or eat whatever she fancied. She could even go wherever she pleased, as long as it was Diagon Alley. The long cobbled street was packed with the most fascinating wizarding shops in the world, and Hailey felt no desire to break her word to Fudge and stray back into the Muggle world.

Hailey ate breakfast each morning in the Leaky Cauldron, where she watched the other guests. There were funny little witches from the country up for a day's shopping; venerable-looking wizards arguing over the latest article in _Transfiguration Today_ ; wild-looking warlocks; raucous dwarfs; and once, what looked suspiciously like a hag, who ordered a plate of raw liver from behind a thick woolen balaclava.

After breakfast, Hailey would go out into the backyard, take out her wand, tap the third brick from the left above the trash bin, and stand back as the archway into Diagon Alley opened in the wall.

Hailey spent the long sunny days exploring the shops and eating under the brightly coloured umbrellas outside, where her fellow diners were either showing one another their purchases, "It's a lunascope, old boy—no more messing around with moon charts, see?" or else discussing the case of Sirius Black, "personally, I won't let any of the children out along until he's back in Azkaban."

So far, she enjoyed Rosa Lee Teabag, a tea shop that had an old fashioned theme to it, and Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, which reminded Hailey of the book _The Nutcracker and The Mouse King_ , which had been one of her favourite books when she was younger. Dudley marked up the pages in the book and her aunt refused to buy her a new one. She remembered watching some adaptations based off of it before Dudley changed the channel on her, but the one she really wanted was to go see was the ballet.

Hailey was glad that she didn't have to do her homework at night anymore, so she chose to do it at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. She had finished all her essays with the occasional help from Florean Fortescue himself, who, apart from knowing a great deal about medieval witch burnings, gave Hailey free sundaes every half hour.

After refilling her money bag with gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts from her vault at Gringotts, Hailey had to exercise a lot of self-control not to spend the whole lot at once. She had to remind herself that she had five more years to finish at Hogwarts, and thought about what would happen if she ever asked the Dursleys for money for spellbooks. She had to stop herself from buying a handsome set of solid gold Gobstones, which was a wizarding game like marbles, in which the stones squirt a nasty-smelling liquid into the other player's face when they lose a point. She was also sorely tempted to buy a nice periwinkle blue, glittery-looking dress in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, when she went inside to get new robes and skirts.

A week after she had arrived, there was a crowd in Quality Quidditch Supplies. She had edged her way in and squeezed in among the excited witches and wizards. She glimpsed a newly erected podium, on which was mounted the most magnificent broom she had even seen in her life. She felt her jaw drop at the sight.

"Just come out—prototype—" a square-jawed wizard told his companion.

"It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it, Dad?" squeaked a boy younger than Hailey, who was swinging off his father's arm.

"Irish International Side's just put in an order for seven of these beauties!" the proprietor of the shop told the crowd. "And they're favourites for the World Cup!"

A large witch in front of Hailey moved, and Hailey was now able to read the sign that was next to the broom:

 **THE FIREBOLT**

 _This state-of-the-art racing broom sports a streamlined, superfine handle of ash, treated with a diamond-hard polish and hand-numbered with its own registration number. Each individually selected birch twig in the broomtail has been honed to aerodynamic perfection, giving the Firebolt has an acceleration of 150 miles an hour in ten seconds and incorporates an unbreakable braking charm. Price on request._

Price on request…Hailey didn't want to know how much gold the Firebolt would cost. She had never wanted anything as much in her whole life—but she had never lost a Quidditch match on her Nimbus Two Thousand, and what was the point of emptying out her vault when she was a perfectly good broomstick that was in good shape already? She didn't ask for the price, but every now and then, she returned to stare at the broom.

When she looked at her supplies list, she realized that she needed to go to the Apothecary to replenish her potions ingredients, buy schoolbooks, especially new schoolboks for her two new subjects which was Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, and get writing implements. From what she saw, _The Monster Book of Monsters_ was on her booklist for Care of Magical Creatures and she was glad that she didn't have to buy that book. She needed to remember to thank Hagrid for giving the book to her.

So, she grabbed her messenger bag and supplies list, before heading over to Flourish and Blotts. When she looked in the bookshop window, she didn't see the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs, instead there was a large iron cage behind the glass that held about a hundred copies of _The Monster Book of Monsters_. Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and snapping aggressively.

Hailey took out her booklist and looked at it again. She entered the shop and the manager came hurrying towards her.

"Hogwarts?" the manager asked abruptly, "Come to get your new books?"

"Yes," replied Hailey, "I need—"

"Get out of the way," said the manager impatiently, brushing Hailey to the side. He put on a pair of very thick gloves, picked up a large, knobbly walking stick, and proceeded toward the door of the _Monster Books'_ cage.

"Hang on," Hailey said quickly, "I've already got one of those."

"Have you?" A look of enormous relief spread over the manager's face. "Thank heavens for that. I've been bitten five times already this morning—"

There was a loud ripping noise and Hailey quickly turned to look for the source. She saw that two _Monster Books_ had seized a third and was pulling it apart.

"Stop it! Stop it!" cried the manager, poking the walking stick through the bars and knocking the books apart. "I'm never stocking them again, never! It's been bedlam! I thought we'd seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of the _Invisible Book of Invisibility_ —cost a fortune, and we never found them…Well…is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Yes," replied Hailey, looking down at her booklist. "I need _Unfogging the Future_ by Cassandra Vablatsky."

"Ah, starting Divination, are you?" said the manager, stripping off his gloves and leading Hailey into the back of the shop, where there was a corner devoted to fortune-telling. A small table was stacked with volumes such as _Predicting the_ _Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself Against Shocks_ and _Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul_.

"Here you are," said the manager, who had climbed a set of steps to take down a thick, black-bound book. " _Unfogging the Future_. Very good guide to all your basic fortune-telling methods—palmistry, crystal balls, bird entrails—"

Hailey stopped listening, since she had noticed another book, which was among a display on a small table: _Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming_.

"Oh, I wouldn't read that if I were you," said the manager lightly, looking to see what Hailey was staring at. "You'll start seeing death omens everywhere. It's enough to frighten anyone to death."

Hailey kept staring at the front cover of the book; it showed a black dog large as a bear, with gleaming eyes. It looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't place where she might have seen it.

The manager pressed _Unfogging the Future_ into Hailey's hands and asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes," replied Hailey looking at her list, "er—I need _Intermediate Transfiguration_ and _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3_."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Hailey emerged from Flourish and Blotts with her new books in her arms. She kept her head down, as she was trying to shove them in her messenger bag and thinking about that black down on the cover of the _Death Omens_ book as she headed to Scribbulus Writing Implements. She couldn't place why the black dog seemed familiar to her. She bumped into people and mutter apologies to them as she walked by.

She crashed into someone, causing the last two of her books to fall out of her hands. She was irritated and started to crouch, when she and the other person bumped heads. She groaned and rubbed her head. She looked to see who she bumped into, to see that it was her friend, Michael Corner. Hailey's couldn't help but smile at the sight of him and she blinked, "Sorry."

Michael smiled, "Its okay."

They both crouched down to gather Hailey's books. Hailey couldn't help but notice that Michael had seemed to notice the H necklace she was wearing and how he seemed to brighten up a little. Hailey noticed Michael's parents and Michael's cousin, Evangeline. They were standing off to the side, watching.

Evangeline had dark brown hair, but her hair was in two plaited pigtails. Eva was wearing a lot of multicolored beaded bracelets on both wrists. Eva was probably around five-three, two inches shorter than Hailey. Hailey noticed that Michael was probably an inch taller than her now. He had shoulder-length black hair and dark eyes. Hailey couldn't help but notice that he was kind of good-looking and she almost blushed at the thought.

Michael started "Hailey, this is—"

"I'm Gabriella," Michael's mother interrupted, rushing forward. Gabriella started feverishly shaking Hailey's hand. "Michael told us so much about you."

She released Hailey's hand, and Michael's dad rushed forward, to shake Hailey's hand. "I'm Jeffery," Michael's dad stated and eyed Hailey. "You're not wearing a headband, so you must be the normal one."

Hailey wasn't sure what to say, "Er…thank you?"

Jeffery released Hailey's hand and stepped back, as Eva stepped forward. Eva looked at Hailey, smiled widely, and hugged her, "I'm Eva. I'm so glad to finally meet you."

Hailey awkwardly patted Eva on the back. "You…too?" She added, "Thanks for the bracelets."

"You're welcome," Eva said, releasing Hailey.

"Where were you running off, too?" Gabriella asked.

"I was going to Scribbulus," Hailey said. "I was sort of distracted and wasn't watching where I was going."

"I kind of figured that," Michael said.

Hailey shrugged, "I better get going." She motioned to the shop she was going to.

"I'll go with you," Michael said, sounding a little to eager.

"You should ask your parents," Hailey said.

Michael turned to look at his parents, "Please?"

"We'll meet up at Florean Fortescue's in an hour," Gabriella stated.

"Yeah, remember that it's an hour," Jeffery said.

Eva was smirking and the three headed to Flourish and Blotts.

Hailey wasn't sure where to start on what's bothering her. She decided to start with, "So, I accidentally blew up my aunt."

Michael looked at her eyes wide and confused. He asked, "you did _what_ to your aunt?"

"I blew my aunt up," Hailey repleated. "She inflated and flew out of Number 4."

"At least you didn't get expelled," Michael said, relaxing a little.

"I thought I was going to get arrested," Hailey admitted and they both shuddered at the thought of Azkaban.

"Is something bothering you?" Michael asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Well…I saw this black dog in Magnolia Crescent," Hailey started. "When I was getting my books, I saw this book on Death Omens, and the cover had a picture of this big black dog on it."

"I've seen big black dogs before," Michael said. "I wouldn't worry _too_ much about them. Besides, that book sounds like it would cause a lot of paranoia. You don't need that added to it, especially since You-Know-Who tried to kill you three times already."

Hailey nodded, a little bit of doubt still lingered. "Well, I was panicking at the time…"

"And seeing that book just made you a bit paranoid," Michael added.

Hailey nodded and the two entered Scribbulus. They gathered ink, quills, and parchment.. Hailey decided to try out some scarlet ink, they paid for their things and left the shop. She stopped and looked at Quality Quidditch Supplies. "I need to show you The Firebolt."

Michael looked confused, "The what?"

"The Firebolt," Hailey responded, getting excited. "It's a new broomstick." She led him inside the shop. There were already two boys staring at the broomstick. She recognized them as Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, two Gryffindors, who were in Hailey's year. Hailey pointed at the broomstick, "That, Michael, is the Firebolt."

The two Gryffindors looked at Hailey as Michael read the sign next to the broom.

"Are you going to get the Firebolt?" Dean asked.

Hailey shook her head, sadly, "Can't, sorry."

Seamus asked, "Why not?"

"I still have to finish Hogwarts. If, perhaps the price went down on it next year, I probably would. Besides I still have a perfectly good broom, anyway." Hailey admitted. "I'll see you two around Hogwarts." She grabbed Michael's arm and dragged him outside the shop.

"I guess that's a nice broomstick," Michael said, confused.

Hailey almost forgot that Michael was born in the Muggle world, despite being a half-blood. He probably didn't know the difference between broomsticks, too. All they knew was that witches and wizards were using brooms as far back as A.D. 962. She started leading Michael to Sugarplum's and decided that she wanted to get to know Michael a little better, since it might help her find him a better birthday or Christmas present. She asked, "What's your favourite colour?"

"Red," Michael replied, sounding a little caught off guard. "What about yours?"

"Blue," Hailey answered. "What's your favourite ice cream?"

"Neapolitan ice cream, because it has my favourites together," Michael said, "Yours?"

"Vanilla," Hailey responded. "Which one is your top favourite?"

"Strawberry," Michael answered.

"What is your favourite wizard sweet?" Hailey asked.

"Pumpkin Pasties," Michael replied. "What about you?"

"Cauldron Cakes," Hailey answered.

"What is your favourite Muggle sweet?" Michael asked before Hailey can ask him a question.

"I rarely get sweets, but if I had to pick, it would be Crunchie bars," Hailey answered.

"Me too," Michael replied.

"What was the worst gift you've ever been given?" Hailey asked.

"A broken CD of my least favourite band," Michael said. "What about you?"

"My cousin's old pair of socks," Hailey answered. "What is your favourite type of cheese?"

Michael was confused, "I…I don't…I'm fond of Gouda?"

"What is your favourite Muggle book?" Hailey asked.

"The Oz books," Michael stated.

Hailey nodded, and asked, "What is your favourite book out of the entire series?"

" _The Patchwork Girl of Oz_ ," Michael said.

Hailey asked, "Which colour would you rather wear for the rest of your life, green or yellow?"

"I would go with green. At least there's different shade of green, instead of yellow," Michael asked.

Hailey asked, "How about blue or red?"

"Blue," Michael said. "Red trousers don't sound appealing."

Hailey had to agree with that and thought about something. "Would you rather keep running into danger with me all the time or would you rather hang out with Terry and Anthony?"

"Run into danger with you," Michael said.

Hailey tried not to smile at that and asked, "Ponds, lakes, beaches, or rivers?"

"Ponds," Michael said, "since they're not that deep."

Hailey motioned to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, "This is Sugarplum's."

"I can see that," Michael said and they walked in the shop. "Hey, did your aunt and uncle sign the permission form so you can go to Hogsmeade?"

Hailey felt the excitement of the day wear off a little. "No, they didn't." She wasn't sure how to explain why they didn't. Besides, all Michael knew was that Hailey and the Durselys didn't get along.

"Okay, I'll try to bring something back to you," Michael said.

Hailey gave a small smile, "Thanks." She bought Michael a few pumpkin pasties and some Cauldron Cakes for herself, before they left with their sweets and laden with writing implements. She led him to Florean Fortescue's, where Michael's parents and Eva were just walking up, holding a cauldron with spellbooks in it. The cauldron was moving, probably because the _Monster Book_ was in there.

Hailey glanced at the sky, which was slowly darkening. She wasn't expecting for the sun to be setting. "I better get back to the Leaky Cauldron. Fudge said I should be back before dark."

Eva looked confused, "Why?"

Hailey shrugged, "I really should get going. I'll see you at Hogwarts." She turned and headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.

When she got to her room, she set her writing implements and messenger bag down. She noticed that someone had been in to tidy, since the bed was made, and the window was open. Her clothes were still on the floor, as if the person was afraid to go near her undergarments. She remembered her conversation with Michael about the dog. "It can't have been a death omen," she said to her reflection in the mirror. "I was panicking when I saw that thing in Magnolia Crescent…It was just a stray dog…" She tried to detangle her hair.

"You're fighting a losing battle there, dear," the mirror said in a wheezy voice.

* * *

As days passed, Hailey hoped to spot Ron, Hermione, or Mandy in Diagon Alley, but she couldn't find them. She sent out Hedwig to Mandy, but she already got her school supplies, but agreed to meet her on the Hogwarts Express.

Hailey tried to read up, minus _The Monster Book_ , since she wasn't sure how to tame that thing, yet, and she didn't want to get caught off guard for her third year. She tried to read at Florean Fortescue's, and came across Neville Longbottom and his grandmother. Apparently Neville misplaced his booklist and his grandmother was telling him off.

* * *

On the last day of the summer holidays, Hailey was starting to think that she would meet up with Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express. She got up, got dressed, and went for a last look at the Firebolt. She was wondering where she was going to eat lunch.

"Hailey!" a person yelled, "Hailey!"

Hailey turned around to see Ron and Hermione sitting at a table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. They were waving frantically. Ron was looking very freckly and Hermione was looking very brown.

Hailey went over and sat down at their table.

"Finally!" exclaimed Ron, grinning. "We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin's, and—"

"I got all my school stuff last week," Hailey explained and realized something. "How did you know I was at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Dad," Ron answered simply.

Mr Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic, so no doubt he heard the story about how Hailey blew her aunt up.

"Did you _really_ blow up your aunt, Hailey?" asked Hermione in a very serious voice.

"I didn't mean to," Hailey responded as Ron started laughing. "I just—lost control."

"It's not funny, Ron," Hermione responded sharply. "Honestly, I'm amazed Hailey wasn't expelled."

"So am I," admitted Hailey. "Actually, I thought I was going to be arrested." She looked at Ron, "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?"

"Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?" Ron said, shrugging and still chuckling, "Famous Hailey Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to _me_ if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow? Hermione's there as well!"

Hermione nodded, beaming. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things."

Hailey grinned, "Excellent!" She was happy, "So, have you got all your new books and stuff?"

"Look at this," said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and opening it, "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books—" He pointed at a large bag under his chair, "What about those _Monster Books_ , eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two."

Hailey looked at three bulging bags under Hermione's chair and pointed at it. "What's all that, Hermione?"

"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" said Hermione. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies—"

"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" asked Ron, rolling his eyes at Hailey. "You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view," stated Hermione earnestly.

Hailey figured that Hermione had a point there. She looked at the books, "They allowed you to take all those class? Do you plan on eating or sleeping at all this year?" Ron sniggered.

Hermione looked in her purse, which Hailey figured was her ignoring them. "I've still got ten Galleons. It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice _book_?" Ron asked innocently.

"What's wrong with getting books for your birthday?" Hailey asked confused.

"No, I don't think so," Hermione said to Ron. "I really want an owl. I mean, Hailey's got Hedwig and you've got Errol—"

"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers." He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked over," he placed Scabbers on the table in front of them. "I don't think Egypt agreed with him."

Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop to his whiskers.

"There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Hailey, sure she knew Diagon Alley very well by now. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl."

Hermione and Ron paid for their ice cream, before crossing the street to the Magical Menagerie.

When they walked in, there wasn't much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. It was smelly and very noisy because of the occupants of these cages were all squeaking, squaking, jabbering, or hissing. The witch behind the counter was already advising a wizard of the care of double-ended newts, so Hailey, Ron, and Hermione waited, examining the cages.

Hailey saw a pair of enormous purple toads that were gulping wetly and feasting on dead blowflies. There was a gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell near the window, making the jewels glitter. There was poisonous orange snails oozing slowly up the side of their glass tank, and there was a fat white rabbit that kept changing into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise. Hailey wondered if the rabbit kept doing that because it was bored. Hailey saw cats of every colour, a noisy cage of ravens, a poffle of custard-coloured Puffskeins that were humming loudly in a basket, and on the counter was a vast cage of sleek black rats that were playing some sort of skipping game using their long, bald tails.

The double-ender newt wizard left, and Ron approached the counter. "It's my rat," Ron told the witch. "He's been off-colour ever since I brought him back from Egypt."

"Bang him on the counter," said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black spectacles out of her pocket.

Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the cage of his fellow rats, who stopped their skipping tricks and scuffled to the wire for a better look.

Hailey knew that Percy gave Scabbers to Ron and now that she saw, Scabbers looked woebegone next to the glossy rats in the cage.

"Hm," the witch hummed, picking up Scabbers. "How old is this rat?"

"Dunno," replied Ron, "Quite old. He used to belong to my brother."

"What powers does have?" asked the witch, examining Scabbers closely.

"Er—" Ron trailed off. As far as Hailey knew, Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace of interesting powers.

The witch's eyes moved from Scabbers tattered left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly. She said, "He's been through the mill, this one."

"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," said Ron defensively.

"An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live longer than three years or so," the witch said. "Now, if were looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of these—" she indicated to the black rats, who promptly started skipping again.

Ron muttered, "Show-offs." Hailey couldn't help but agree.

"Well, if you don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic," said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red bottle.

"Okay," said Ron. "How much—ouch!"

Something huge and orange came soaring from the top of the highest cage, landing on Ron's head, and then propelled itself, spitting madly, at Scabbers.

"No, Chrookshanks, no!" cried the witch, but Scabbers shot from between her hands like a bar of soap, landed splay-legged on the floor, and then scampered for the door.

"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, racing out of the shop after him. Hailey followed after.

It took them nearly ten minutes to catch Scabbers, who had taken refuge under a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ron stuffed the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging his head. "What _was_ that?"

"It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger," Hailey stated. She thought about it, "I think it was a Kneazle. They're very intelligent." She had read about them in _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_. She knew that Kneazles are occasionally aggressive, too. There was something else about them, but Hailey forgot what it was.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, not listening to Hailey.

Hailey shrugged, "Probably getting her owl—"

They made their way back up the crowded street to the Magical Menagerie. As they reached it, Hermione came out, but wasn't carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous ginger cat.

"You _bought_ that monster?" asked Ron, his mouth hanging open.

"He's _gorgeous_ , isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing.

Hailey looked at the cat. His fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and his face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. However, it was a matter of opinion. Now that Scabbers was out of sight, however, the cat was purring contentedly in Hermione's arms.

"Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!" shouted Ron.

"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione.

"And what about Scabbers?" asked Ron, pointing at the lump in his chest pocket. "He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?"

"That reminds me, you forgot your rat tonic," said Hermione, slapping the small red bottle into Ron's hand. "And stop _worrying_ , Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him."

"I wonder why," said Ron sarcastically as they set off toward the Leaky Cauldron.

Hailey, however, did feel a bit sympathetic to Crookshanks being stuck in the Magical Menagerie. She wasn't wanted at the Dursleys, either, so she sort of knew how the cat felt. She realized that she was sympathizing with a _cat_.

They found Mr Weasley sitting in the bar, reading the _Daily Prophet_. "Hailey!" he said, smiling as he looked up. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," answered Hailey, as she, Ron, and Hermione joined Mr Weasley at the table, with all their shopping.

Mr Weasley put down his paper, and Hailey saw the now familiar picture of Sirius Black staring up at her.

"They still haven't caught him, then?" she asked.

"No," said Mr Weasley, looking extremely grave. "They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far."

"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" asked Ron. "It'd be good to get some more money—"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," said Mr Weasley, who on closer inspection, looked very strained. "Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words."

Hailey almost shuddered at the thought of the Azkaban guards.

Mrs Weasley entered the bar, laden with shopping bags and followed by twins, Fred and George, who were about to start their fifth year at Hogwarts, the newly elected Head Boy, Percy, and the Weasleys' youngest child and only girl, Ginny.

Ginny seemed to brighten when she spotted Hailey and Ron sitting next to each other at the bar. Hailey suddenly remembered that Ginny wanted her and Ron to get married, so Ginny can have Hailey as a sister-in-law.

Percy, however, held out his hand solemnly as though he and Hailey had never met and said, "Hailey. How nice to see you."

"Hello, Percy," said Hailey, trying not to laugh, but grabbed his hand anyway.

"I hope you're well?" said Percy pompously, shaking hands.

In Hailey's opinion, it felt like she was introducing herself to the mayor. She decided to play along, "Very well, thanks—"

"Hailey!" shouted Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply _splendid_ to see you, old sport—"

"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Hailey's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."

Percy scowled and Hailey couldn't help but giggle at the Weasley twins's antics.

"That's enough, now," said Mrs Weasley.

"Mum!" said Fred as though he'd only just spotted her and seized her hand too. "How really corking to see you—"

"I said, that's enough," said Mrs Weasley, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. "Hello, Hailey, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.

"And last," Fred muttered under his breath.

"I don't doubt that," said Mrs Weasley, frowning suddenly. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" said George, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."

Ginny giggled.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" snapped Mrs Weasley.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going to change for dinner…" He disappeared.

George heaved a sigh and told Hailey, "We tried to shut him a pyramid, but Mum spotted us…"

* * *

Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlour, and the seven Weasleys, Hailey, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Mrs Weasley.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" said Percy curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And they'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them—"

"—for Humongous Bighead," said Fred.

Everyone except Percy and Mrs Weasley snorted into their pudding.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Mr Weasley and Hailey felt a little guilty at that, "—and as I work there, they're doing me a favour—" his voice was casual, but Hailey couldn't help noticing that Mr Weasley's ears had gone red, just like Ron's did when he was under pressure.

"Good thing, too," said Mrs Weasley briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground…You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed."

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy and Hailey couldn't help but agree with Mrs Weasley on that.

After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Ron and Percy were next door to Hailey.

She had just closed and locked her own trunk when she heard angry voices through the wall, and went to see what was going on. The door of number twelve was ajar and Percy was shouting. "It was _here_ , on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing—"

"I haven't touched it, all right?" Ron roared back.

Hailey knocked on the door and asked, "What's up?"

"My Head Boy badge is gone," said Percy, rounding on Hailey.

"So's Scabbers's rat tonice," said Ron, throwing things out of his trunk to look. "I think I might've left it in the bar—"

"You're not going anywhere till you've found my badge!" yelled Percy.

"I'll get Scabbers's tonic since I've already packed," Hailey said to Ron, and went downstairs.

Hailey was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when she heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlour. A second later, she recognized them as Mr and Mrs Weasley.

Hailey considered going back upstairs, not wanting them to know that she heard them arguing, when she heard her name, made her go closer to the parlour door.

"…makes no sense not to tell her," Mr Weasley was saying heatedly. "Hailey's got a right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Hailey like a child. She's thirteen years old and—"

"Arthur, the truth would terrify her!" said Mrs Weasley shrilly. "Do you really want to send Hailey back to school with that hanging over her? For heaven's sake, she's _happy_ not knowing!"

"I don't want to make her miserable, I want to put her on her guard!" retorted Mr Weasley. "You know what Hailey and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves—they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest! Hailey, twice! But Hailey mustn't do that this year! When I think what could have happened to her that night she ran away from home! If the Knight Bus hadn't picked her up, I'm prepared to bet she would have been dead before the Ministry found her."

Mrs Weasley started, "But she's _not_ dead, she's fine, so what's the point—"

"Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the _Daily Prophet_ , we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black's after—"

"But Hailey will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts," Mrs Weasley pointed out.

"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts," Mr Weasley countered.

Mrs Weasley said, "But no one's really sure that Black's after Hailey—"

There was thud on wood and Hailey was sure that Mr Weasley had banged his fist on the table. "Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban that night Black escape. The guards told Fudge that Black's been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: 'They're at Hogwarts…they're at Hogwarts.' Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Hailey dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Hailey will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Hailey stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that…"

There was silence. Hailey leaned closer to the door, desperate to hear more.

"Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Hailey at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?"

"Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed."

Mrs Weasley asked, "Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?"

"Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards," said Mr Weasley heavily. "Nor am I, if it comes to that…but when you're dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid."

Mrs Weasley started, "If they save Hailey—"

"—then I will never say another word against them," said Mr Weasley wearily. "It's late, Molly, we'd better go up…"

Hailey heard the chairs scrapping the floor and as quietly as she could, she hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlour door opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told her that Mr and Mrs Weasley were climbing the stairs.

The bottle of rat tonic was lying under the table they had sat at earlier. Hailey waited until she heard Mrs and Mrs Weasley's bedroom door close, and then headed back upstairs with the bottle.

Fred and George were crouching in the shadows on the landing, heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling his and Ron's room in search of his badge.

"We've got it," Fred whispered to Hailey. "We've been improving it." The badge now read: _Bighead Boy_.

Hailey forced a laugh, went to give Ron the rat tonic, then shut herself in her room and went to lie down on her bed.

So Sirius Black was after her. This explained everything. Fudge had been lenient with her because he was so relieved to find her alive. He'd made Hailey promise to stay in Diagon Alley where there were plenty of wizards to keep an eye on her. And he was sending two Ministry cars to take them all to the station tomorrow, so that they Weasleys could look after Hailey until she was on the train.

Hailey lay listening to the muffled shouting next door and wondered why she didn't feel more scared. Sirius Black had murdered thirteen people with one curse; Mr and Mrs Weasley obviously thought Hailey would be panic-stricken if she knew the truth. But Hailey happened to agree wholeheartedly with Mrs Weasley that the safest place on earth was wherever Albus Dumbledore happened to be. Didn't people always say that Dumbledore was the only person Lord Voldemort had ever been afraid of? Surely Black, as Voldemort's right-hand-man, would be just as frightened of him?

And then there were those Azkaban guards. If they were stationed all around the school, Black's chances of getting inside were very remote.

No, all in all, the thing that bothered Hailey most was that her chances of visiting Hogsmeade now looked like zero. Nobody would want Hailey to leave the safety of the castle until Black was caught; in face, Hailey suspected that her every move would be carefully watched until the danger had passed.

She scowled at the dark ceiling. Did they think she couldn't after herself? She'd escaped Lord Voldemort three times so she wasn't completely useless…

Unbidden, the image of the beast in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent crossed her mind and the Death Omens book, _What to do when you know the worst is coming_ …

"I'm _not_ going to be murdered." Hailey said out loud to reassure herself, which didn't help.

"That's the spirit, dear," said her mirror sleepily.

* * *

A/N: According to the Harry Potter wikia, a group of Puffskiens is called a poffle.


	5. The Dementor

A/N: Chloë Moretz is the face-claim for Mandy.

I got a little confused over the part where the trio put their luggage on a luggage rack in a carriage, then they go looking for a compartment for privacy, and they find one. A few scenes later, Harry's trunk is on a luggage rack in the compartment with Lupin, but they left it in a different compartment? So, I decided that they took their stuff with them.

* * *

Tom woke Hailey the next morning with his usual toothless grin and a cup of tea. Hailey got dressed in the clothes that she wore when she blew up Aunt Marge, minus the pearl necklaces which in Hailey's opinion was a little gaudy. She put on the red lip gloss that Mandy sent her. When she put on the eyeliner, the mirror helpfully said, "Put some of the eyeliner on the left corner of your left eye and on the right corner of your right eye. It will make your eyes stand out more and will look like a doll, dear." Hailey did as she was told and was just persuading a disgruntled Hedwig to get back into her cage when someone banged on the door.

"It's unlocked!" Hailey called and Ron made his way in the room, pulling a sweatshirt over his head and looking irritable.

"The sooner we get on the train, the better," Ron said. "At least I can get away from Percy at Hogwarts. Now he's accusing me of dripping tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater." Ron grimaced, "She's hidden her face under the frame because her nose has gone all blotchy…"

"I've got something to tell you," Hailey began, but Fred and George interrupted them, who looked in to congratulate Ron on infuriating Percy again.

Ron did a double-take, "Are you wearing make up?"

"It's just lip gloss and eyeliner," Hailey countered, a little uncomfortable.

They headed down to breakfast, where Mr Weasley was reading the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ with a furrowed brow and Mrs Weasley was telling Hermione and Ginny about a love potion that she'd made as a young girl. The three were rather giggly about it.

"What were you saying?" Ron asked Hailey as they sat down.

"Later," Hailey muttered as Percy stormed in. Hailey figured that she should tell Ron, Hermione, Michael, and Mandy on the Hogwarts Express. Besides, she had no chance to speak to Ron and Hermione in the chaos of leaving; they were too busy heaving all their trunks down the Leaky Cauldron's narrow staircase and piling them up near the door, with Hedwig and Hermes, Percy's screech owl, perched on top in the cages. A small wickerwork basket stood beside the heap of trunks, spitting loudly.

"It's all right, Crookshanks," Hermione cooed through the wickerwork. "I'll let you out on the train."

"You won't," snapped Ron. "What about poor Scabbers, eh?" He pointed at his chest, where a large lump indicated that Scabbers was curled up in his pocket.

Hailey almost rolled her eyes.

Mr Weasley, who had been outside waiting for the Ministry cars, stuck his head inside. "They're here. Hailey, come on." He marched Hailey across the short stretch of pavement towards the first of two old-fashioned dark green cars, each of which was driven by a furtive-looking wizard wearing a suit of emerald velvet. "In you get, Hailey." He was glancing up and down the crowded street.

Hailey got into the back of the car and was shortly joined by Hermione, Ron, and to Ron's disgust, Percy.

The journey to King's Cross was very uneventful compared with Hailey's trip on the Knight Bus. The Ministry of Magic cars seemed ordinary, though Hailey noticed that they could slide through gaps that Uncle Vernon's new company car certainly couldn't have managed. They reached King's Cross with twenty minutes to spare; the Ministry drivers found them trolleys, unloaded their trunks, touched their hats in salute to Mr Weasley, and drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of an unmoving line at the traffic lights.

Mr Weasley kept close to Hailey's elbow all the way into the station. "Right then," he glanced around them. "Let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go through first with Hailey." He strolled toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, pushing Hailey's trolley and apparently very interested in the InterCity 125 that had just arrived at platform nine. With a meaningful look at Hailey, Mr Weasley leaned casually against the barrier and Hailey imitated him.

In a moment, they had fallen sideways through the solid metal onto platform nine and three-quarters and Hailey looked up to see the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine, puffing smoke over a platform packed with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train.

Percy and Ginny suddenly appeared behind Hailey. They were panting and had apparently taken the barrier at a run.

"Ah, there's Penelope!" said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink again. Hailey and Ginny couldn't help but giggle because Percy stuck out his chest so Penelope couldn't miss his badge. He strode over to a girl with long, curly blonde hair.

Once the remaining Weasleys and Hermione had joined them, Hailey and Ron led the way to the end of train, past packed compartments to a carriage which Mandy, Michael, and Eva, had taken otherwise it looked mostly empty.

They loaded their trunks on it, stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the luggage rack, and then went back outside to say good-bye to Mr and Mrs Weasley.

Mrs Weasley kissed all her children, then Hermione, and finally Hailey. Hailey was slightly embarrassed but was quite pleased when Mrs Weasley gave her an extra hug.

"Do take care, won't you Hailey?" Mrs Weasley said as she straightened up, but her eyes oddly bright. Then she opened her enormous handbag and said, "I've made you all sandwiched…Here you are, Ron…no, they're not corned beef…Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are, dear…"

"Hailey," said Mr Weasley quietly, "come over here a moment." He jerked his head toward a pillar, and Hailey followed him behind, leaving the others crowded around Mrs Weasley. "There's something I've got to tell you before you leave—" said Mr Weasley, in a tense voice.

"It's all right, Mr Weasley," said Hailey. "I already know."

"You know? How could you know?" Mr Weasley asked.

"I—er—I heard you and Mrs Weasley talking last night. I couldn't help hearing," Hailey added quickly, embarrassed. "Sorry—"

"That's not the way I'd have chosen for you to find out," said Mr Weasley, looking anxious.

"No—honestly—it's okay. This way, you haven't broken your word to Fudge and I know what's going on," Hailey pointed out.

Mr Weasley said, "Hailey, you must be very scared—"

"I'm not," said Hailey sincerely. " _Really_ ," she added, because Mr Weasley was looking at her in disbelief. "I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"

Mr Weasley flinched at the sound of the name, but overlooked it. "Hailey, I knew you were, well, made of stronger stuff than Fudge seems to think, and I'm obviously pleased that you're not scared, but—"

"Arthur!" called Mrs Weasley, who was now shepherding the rest onto the train. "Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"

"She's coming, Molly!" said Mr Weasley, but turned back to Hailey. He continued talking in a lower and more hurried voice. "Listen, I want you to give me your word—"

"—that I'll be a good girl and stay in the castle?" asked Hailey, gloomily.

"Not entirely," said Mr Weasley, who looked more serious that Hailey had ever seen him. "Hailey, swear to me you won't go _looking_ for Black."

Hailey stared, "What?"

There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train, slamming all the doors shut.

"Promise me, Hailey," said Mr Weasley, talking more quickly still, "that whatever happens—"

"Why would I go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?" said Hailey blankly.

Mr Weasley said urgently, "Swear to me that whatever you might hear—"

"Arthur, quickly!" cried Mrs Weasley.

Steam was billowing from the train; it had started to move. Hailey ran to the compartment door, and Ron threw it open and stood back to let her on. They leaned out of the window and waved at Mr and Mrs Weasley until the train turned a corner and blocked them for view.

"I saw a compartment that was empty except for one person when I was looking for you guys. He was asleep," Mandy said.

Hailey turned to face her friends. "I need to talk to you in private," Hailey muttered to Mandy, Michael, Ron, and Hermione, as the train picked up speed.

"Go away, Ginny," said Ron.

"Oh, that's nice," said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

"Eva, please go join her," Michael said to Eva.

"Are you planning on breaking more school rules?" Eva asked, grinning.

"Please," Hailey said urgently.

Eva stood up, rolled her eyes, and looked Michael in the eye, which was probably hard, considering that Michael was probably four inches taller than her. "Aunt Gabriella told me to keep an eye on you so you don't break any more rules or nearly get yourself killed."

"What am I going to do on the train to get in trouble?" Michael asked, incredulous. Apparently that was good enough for Eva, so she followed after Ginny.

The five set off down the corridor with their luggage, Mandy leading them to an empty compartment that was at the very end of the train.

However, the only person that was in the compartment was a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. They stood on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food cart.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with grey.

They slid the door shut, sitting their luggage in the luggage rack, and taking the seats farthest away from the window.

They sat down, Hailey somehow ended up sitting next to Michael.

Ron hissed, "Who d'you reckon he is?"

"Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once.

"How d'you know that?" Mandy asked, sounding slightly impressed.

"It's on his case," Hermione replied pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The man _Professor R. J. Lupin_ was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Wonder what he teaches," Ron said, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"That's obvious," whispered Hermione. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts."

They already had two Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, both of whom had lasted only one term. Rumours began to spread that the job was jinxed.

"Let's hope he's not a Ravenclaw," Michael muttered.

The last two Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers had been former Ravenclaws and they were extremely incompetent.

"Or incompetent," Mandy chimed in.

"Well, I hope he's up to it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…" he turned to Hailey. "What were you going to tell us?"

Hailey told them about Mr and Weasley's argument and the warning Mr Weasley had just given her. When she finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, Hermione had her hands over her mouth, Michael and Mandy both were looking grim and at a loss for words.

Hermione lowered her hands from her mouth to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after _you_? Oh, Hailey…you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Hailey—"

"I don't go looking for trouble," said Hailey, nettled. "Trouble usually finds _me_."

"How thick would Hailey have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill her?" said Ron shakily.

It seemed like they were taking the news worse than Hailey had expected. Ron and Hermione seemed to be much more frightened of Black than she was.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," said Ron uncomfortable. "No one's ever done it before. And he was top-security prisoner too."

"But they'll catch him, won't they?" said Hermione earnestly. "I mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him too…"

Michael looked like he was going to say something when he paused and looked around, confused. Hailey was going to ask him why he was looking around, when she heard a faint, sort of tinny whistling coming from somewhere.

"What's that noise?" asked Ron.

They all looked around the compartment.

"It's coming from your trunk, Hailey," said Ron.

Mandy stood up and reached into the luggage rack. A moment later she had pulled the Pocket Sneakoscope out from between Hailey's robes. It was spinning very fast in the palm of Ron's hand and glowing brilliantly.

"Is that a _Sneakoscope_?" asked Hermione interestedly, standing up for a better look.

"Yeah, mind you, it's a very cheap one," Ron said. "It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Hailey."

"Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?" said Hermione shrewdly.

"No! Well…I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys…but how else was I supposed to get Hailey's present to her?"

"It's probably not broken, since it knew that you weren't supposed to send out Errol," Michael pointed out.

The Sneakoscope was still whistling. Hailey cringed at the sound, "Well, stick it back in the trunk or it'll wake him up." She nodded towards Professor Lupin. Mandy stuffed the Sneakoscope into a particularly horrible pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks, which deadened the sound, then closed the lid of the trunk on it.

"We could get it checked in Hogsmeade," Ron said. "They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me."

Michael and Hailey exchanged a quick look. Hailey had forgotten to tell them that she wasn't going.

Before Hailey can bring it up, Hermione asked, "Do you know much about Hogsmeade? I've read it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain—"

"Yeah, I think it is," said Ron in an offhand sort of way.

"It is," Mandy said.

"But that's not why I want to go," Ron said. "I just want to get inside Honeydukes!"

"What's that?" said Hermione.

"It's a sweetshop," Mandy answered.

"They've got _everything_ ," Ron stated. "Pepper Imps—they make you smoke at the mouth—and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking want to write next—"

"But Hogsmeade's a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione pressed on eagerly. "In _Sites of Historical Sorcery_ it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain—"

At that, Michael looked interested.

"—and massive sherbet balls that make you levitate a few inches off the ground while you're sucking them," said Ron, who was clearly not listening to a word Hermione was saying.

Hermione looked at Hailey, "Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?"

"'Spect it will," said Hailey heavily. "You'll have to tell me when you've found out."

Mandy looked a little dejected and patted Hailey on the shoulder in a comforting manner, realizing what Hailey just meant.

"What d'you mean?" asked Ron.

"Wasn't it obvious?" Mandy asked. "She can't go."

"The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form and Fudge wouldn't sign it either," Hailey explained.

Ron looked horrified. " _You're not allowed to come?_ But—no way—McGonagall or someone will give you permission—"

Hailey gave a hollow laugh and Michael snorted. Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, was very strict. Hailey wouldn't expect Professor McGonagall to sign her permission form since she wasn't even in Gryffindor.

"—or we could ask Fred and George, they know every secret passage out of the castle—" Ron continued.

"Ron!" said Hermione sharply. "I don't think Hailey should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose—"

"Yeah, I except that's what McGonagall will say when I ask for permission," said Hailey bitterly.

"There's always Professor Flitwick," Mandy said.

"He cares about us," Michael said. "I don't think Flitwick will sign it, either, especially since there's a mass murderer on the loose."

"But if we're with her," said Ron spiritedly to Hermione, Mandy, and Michael, "Black wouldn't dare—"

"Oh, Ron, don't talk rubbish," snapped Hermione, fumbling for the straps on Crookshank's basket. "Black's already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street. Do you really think he's going to worry about attacking Hailey just because _we're_ there?"

Hailey knew that Hermione had a point, because Black wouldn't care that there will be two Ravenclaws and two Gryffindors with her.

"Don't let that thing out!" Ron said, much to Michael and Mandy's confusion. It was too late as Crookshanks leapt lightly from the basket, stretched, yawned, and sprang onto Ron's knees; the lump in Ron's pocket trembled and he shoved Crookshanks angrily away. "Get out of here!"

Michael and Mandy, both a little horrified, said, "Don't—"

"Ron, don't!" Hermione said angrily, drowning out the other two.

Professor Lupin stirred, stopping what Ron was going to say. They watched him apprehensively, but he simply turned his head the other way, mouth slightly open, and slept on.

The Hogwarts Express moved steadily north and the scenery outside the window became wilder and darker while the clouds overhead thickened. People were chasing backward and forward past the door of their compartment. Crookshanks had now settled in an empty seat, his squashed face turned toward Ron, his yellow eyes on Ron's top pocket.

A little before one o'clock, Eva walked in, holding something in her hand, before sitting in a seat next to Michael, across from Mandy.

Eva said, "It took me a few minutes to find you guys." She sounded a little upset at the thought.

"What are you holding, Eva?" Hermione asked, looking at Eva's hands.

"Eve," Eva said excitedly and holding up a Puffskein, which was humming.

"She wanted another Puffskein, but my mum said no," Michael said.

"I would've named it Adam," Eva said, pouting a little.

"I had a Puffskein once," Ron said. "Fred used it for Bludger practice."

Mandy looked horrified and Eva gasped. At that moment, the plump witch with the food cart arrived at the compartment door.

"D'you think we should wake him up?" Ron asked awkwardly, nodding toward Professor Lupin. "He looks like he could do with some food."

Eva looked at Professor Lupin and nodded in agreement.

Hermione approached Professor Lupin cautiously. "Er—Professor?" she said. "Excuse me—Professor?"

He didn't move.

"Don't worry, dear," said the witch as she handed Hailey a large stack of Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. "If he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up front with the driver."

"I suppose he _is_ asleep?" said Ron quietly as the witch slide the compartment door closed. "I mean—he hasn't died, has he?"

"No, no, he's breathing," whispered Hermione, taking the Cauldron Cake Hailey passed her. Hailey passed the Pumpkin Pasties to Michael.

Eva looked at Professor Lupin and back at Hermione. "How can you tell? My former classmate's mother passed away in her sleep. He woke up late and was confused, so he went to check on her. At first he thought she was asleep and then realized she was dead."

Mandy looked at Eva in a mix of shock and slight sympathy. "You have experiences, too?"

Eva looked confused, "What does that mean?" Michael passed her a pumpkin pasty and she took it. She suddenly brightened, "I can't wait till I get to Hogwarts. I'm going to my parents all about it, when they come back and get me."

Hailey was slightly confused because Eva's parents kicked her out of the house when they found out that Eva was a witch. She felt bad for Eva thinking that her parents would return to get her. Maybe they might, maybe they won't. The others looked slightly uncomfortable.

"You know, I'm excited to study Charms and Potions," Eva said.

It was around mid-afternoon when it started to rain, they heard footsteps in the corridor again. Three of Hailey's least favourite people appeared at the door: Draco Malfoy, flanked by his cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

Draco Malfoy and Hailey had been enemies ever since they had met on their very first journey to Hogwarts. Hailey suspected that it had something to do with her turning down his friendship and he reminded Hailey of Dudley's lackey, Piers Polkiss, who held people's arms behind their backs as Dudley hit them. Malfoy's two cronies seemed like they existed to do Malfoy's bidding.

"Well, look who it is," Malfoy said in a lazy drawl, pulling open the compartment door, "Potty and the Weasel."

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.

"That's not funny," Eva said, almost confused.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," said Malfoy, ignoring Eva. "Did your mother die of shock?"

"That's a terrible thing to say," Eva said, looking slightly frustrated at being ignored.

Ron stood up so quickly, he knocked Crookshanks's basket to the floor. Professor Lupin gave a snort.

"Who's that?" said Malfoy, taking a step backward as he spotted Lupin.

"New teacher," said Hailey, getting to her feet, too, in case she needed to hold Ron back.

Mandy asked, "What were you saying, Malfoy?" She was smirking.

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't foolish enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose. "C'mon," he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappeared.

Hailey and Ron sat down again, Ron was massaging his knuckles. Ron said angrily, "I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year. I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get a hold of his head and—" He made a violent gesture in midair.

"Ron," hissed Hermione, pointing at Professor Lupin, "be _careful_ …"

However, Professor Lupin stayed fast asleep.

"I agree with Ron. I'm not going to stand back and let him bully Hailey. I started to come with things to say back to him," Mandy said.

After a few minutes of silence, Eva said, "I just don't get how one person can be so terrible."

"Ask your parents that question," Michael muttered.

Eva punched Michael on the shoulder. "They're just terrified of the unexplained and panicked. They'll come back for me once they've settled down and get used to the idea."

"I don't think they will," Michael whispered in Hailey's ear.

Hailey nearly shivered at how close he was and noticed how Eva was giving them a weird look.

The rain was beginning to thicken as the rain sped yet farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering grey, which darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks.

The rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept.

Eva was beginning to get antsy, because her knee was bouncing and she was looking out the window. Hailey didn't blame her, since she was beginning to get nervous. She was shaking her hands out to get rid of the nervous feeling.

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window. The train started to slow down. "Great," he got up and walked carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside. "I'm starving. I was to get to the feast…"

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

Mandy seemed confused. "Yeah, I don't think we're there yet."

Michael grabbed Hailey's arm and lifted her arm up to look at Hailey's watch. "It doesn't seem like it's time yet."

"So, why're we stopping?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Eva asked, confused. "Why are we stopping?"

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

Hailey, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor, to see that all along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. All the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" asked Ron from behind Hailey.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

"Actually, I think that was me," Mandy said.

Hailey felt her way back to her seat.

"D'you think we've broken down?" Ron asked.

"Dunno…" Hailey answered.

There was the sound of something quickly whispering under their breath.

"What's that sound?" Mandy asked.

"I think that's Eva praying," Michael said.

There was now a squeaking sound, and Hailey saw the dim black outline of Ron wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out. "There's something moving out there. I think people are coming aboard…"

"I don't think people are allowed on the Hogwarts Express," Mandy said.

"What is going on?" Eva demanded, shrilly. "If people aren't allowed on the Hogwarts Express why are people coming aboard?"

"We're not entirely sure," Michael said.

The compartment door slid open and someone fell painfully over Hailey's legs.

"Sorry—d'you know what's going?—Ouch—sorry—"

"Hullo, Neville," said Hailey, feeling around in the dark and pulled Neville up by his cloak.

"Hailey? Is that you? What's happening?" Neville asked.

Ron started, "No idea—"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Mandy said.

"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," said Hermione. Hailey felt Hermione pass her, heard the door slide open again, and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked.

"Who's _that_?" a voice asked.

"Ginny?" asked Hermione.

"Hermione?" asked Ginny.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

Ginny answered, "I was looking for Ron—"

"Come in," Hermione said.

"This compartment is full," Eva said.

"I think it can fit more people," Mandy responded, "as long as no one sits down."

"Ouch!" exclaimed Neville. Maybe Ginny bumped into him, Hailey wasn't sure.

"Quiet!" a hoarse voice said.

Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last. Hailey could hear movements and no one spoke.

There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, grey face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

Hailey noticed how Mandy looked pale, Eva had her feet pulled onto her seat and was shivering, and was also pale. She had grabbed onto Michael's arm and held onto Eve with the other arm. Hailey realized she had grabbed onto Michael's arm too and awkwardly released it.

"Stay where you are," Professor Lupin said in the same hoarse voice and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

But the door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Hailey looked downward and saw a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water.

As though the dementor beneath the cloak sensed Hailey's gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of its black cloak. The dementor drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

An intense cold swept over them all. Hailey felt her own breath catch in her chest. The cold went deeper than her skin. It was inside her chest, it was inside her very heart…

Hailey couldn't see. She felt like she was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in her ears as though of water. She was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder…

And then, from far away, she heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. She wanted to help whoever it was, she tried to move her arms, but couldn't…a thick white fog was swirling around her, inside her—

"Hailey! Hailey! Are you all right?"

Someone was slapping at her face.

"Stop it, Mandy! She's coming around." That sounded like Michael.

"W—what?" Hailey opened her eyes; there were lanterns above her, and the floor was shaking—the Hogwarts Express was moving again and the light had come back on. She seemed to have slid out of her seat and onto the floor. Mandy, Ron, and Hermione were kneeling next to her, and above them she could see Neville and Professor Lupin watching.

Hailey felt very sick; when she brushed some of her hair out of her face, she felt cold sweat on her face.

Ron, Hermione, and Mandy helped Hailey onto her seat.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yeah," Hailey answered, looking toward the door. The dementor had vanished. "What happened? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," Mandy said sounding nervous.

Hailey looked around the bright compartment. Ginny, Neville, Michael, and Eva were looking back at her, all looking pale. Michael, was also looking pale, had his arm around Eva, in a comforting manner, but he was looking at Hailey concerned and he looked like he was shaking.

Hailey started, "But I heard screaming—"

A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces. "Here," he said to Hailey, handing her a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."

Hailey took the chocolate but she didn't eat it.

"What was that thing?" Eva asked, sounding terrified.

"A dementor," said Lupin, giving chocolate to everyone else. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him, as Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapped and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…" he strolled past Hailey and disappeared into the corridor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Hailey?" asked Hermione, watching Hailey anxiously.

Hailey was a little uncomfortable with what was going on. "I don't get it…what happened?" She wiped more sweat off her face.

Eva started explaining, "Well—that thing—the dementor—stood there and looked around, I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face—and you—you—"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron, who still looked scared. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching—"

Hermione explained, "And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the dementor and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the detementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shout of his wand at it, and it turned around, and sort of glided away…"

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again…"

"It was horrible," Mandy said.

Ginny, who was huddled in a seat, looking as nearly as bad as Hailey felt, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

"But didn't any of you—fall off your seats?" Hailey asked awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at Hailey again. "Ginny was shaking like mad, though…"

Hailey didn't understand. She felt weak and shivery, as though she was recovering from a bad bout of flu; she also felt the beginnings of shame. _Why had I gone to pieces like that, when no one else had?_ She wondered.

Professor Lupin came back and paused as he entered, looked around, and said, with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know…"

Hailey took a bite of the chocolate and to her surprise, warmth spread suddenly to the tips of her fingers and toes.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you all right, Hailey?"

"Fine," Hailey muttered, embarrassed.

They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Hailey, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, Michael, and Eva turned to see the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

Eva started, goggling at Hagrid, "Uh…"

"He's nice," Michael said quickly.

"All righ', you five?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd.

They waved at him, but had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around them was shunting them along the platform. The five followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled, Hailey could only assume, by an invisible horse, because when Mandy, Michael, and Hailey climbed inside and shut the door, the coach set off all by itself, bumping and swaying in procession.

"This is pulled by Threstrals," Mandy told Hailey. "Only people who saw death and accepted its reality can see them. That's what my dad told me." Mandy's dad worked for the Department For Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures.

The coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. Hailey felt better since the chocolate, but she still felt weak. She was getting slightly irritated at the looks that Mandy and Michael kept giving her, as if they were afraid that she might collapse again. She got that they were worried, but still it was slightly aggravating, but she was glad that they were worried about her.

The carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, which was flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars. Hailey saw two more towering, hooded dementors, standing guard on either side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf her again. She leaned back into the lumpy seat and closed her eyes until they had passed the gates.

The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the castle; Mandy was looking out the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer. At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and they got out of the carriage.

There was a drawling, delighted voice saying, "You _fainted_ , Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted_?"

Malfoy elbowed past Mandy to block Hailey's way up the stone steps to the castle. He was looking gleeful and his pale eyes were glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Michael said, glaring at Malfoy.

"Did you faint as well, Corner?" said Malfoy loudly. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Corner?"

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage.

Malfoy gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Oh, no—er— _Professor_ ," then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle, and led them up the steps into the castle.

"I think that prat has something planned," Mandy said, groaning.

They continued up the steps, joining the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, into the cavernous entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches, and housed a magnificent staircase that led to the upper floors.

The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Hailey followed the crowd toward it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice called, "Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!"

Hailey turned around surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. She was a stern-looking witch who wore her hair in a tight bun; her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. Hailey fought her way over to the teacher with a feeling of foreboding: Professor McGonagall had a way of making her feel she must have down something wrong. Hermione pushed her way over too, looking worried.

"There's no need to look so worried—I just want a word ion my office," Professor McGonagall told them. "Move along there, Weasley, Corner, and Brocklehurst."

The three stared as Professor McGonagall ushered Hailey and Hermione away from the chattering crowd; they accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along the corridor.

Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned Hailey and Hermione to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Potter."

Before Hailey could reply and ask why she was being questioned by Professor McGonagall and not Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw House, but there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in.

Hailey felt her face heat up. It was bad enough that she's passed out, or whatever it was she had done, without everyone making all this fuss. "I'm fine," she said, "I don't need anything—"

"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring what Hailey said, and bending down to stare closely at her. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly. "Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Hailey's bangs and feeling her forehead. "She won't be the last one who collapses. Yes, she's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate—"

"I'm not delicate!" snapped Hailey crossly.

"Of course you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absentmindedly, now taking Hailey's pulse.

"What does she need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply. "Bed rest? Should she perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"I'm _fine_!" said Hailey, jumping up. She didn't want to know what Malfoy would say if she had to go to the hospital wing. It would be torture.

"Well, she should have some chocolate, at the very," said Madam Pomfrey, who was now trying to peer into Hailey's eyes.

"I've already had some," said Hailey. "Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."

"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we're finally got a Defense Against the Darks Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

"Are you sure you feel all right, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

" _Yes_ ," replied Hailey, exasperated.

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we go down to the feast together."

Hailey went back into the corridor with Madam Pomfrey, who left for the hospital wing, muttering to herself. She had to wait only a few minutes; then Hermione emerged looking very happy about something, followed by Professor McGonagall, and the three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.

It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles, which were floating over the tables in midair. Professor Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was carrying an ancient hat and a three-legged stool out of the hall.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting."

New students at Hogwarts were sorted into Houses by trying on the Sorting Hat, which shouted out the House they were best suited to (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin). Professor McGonagall strode off toward her empty seat at the staff table, and Hailey and Hermione set off in opposite directions as quietly as possible, to their respective tables. People looked around at Hailey as she passed along the back of the hall, and a few of them even pointed at Hailey. She wondered if the story of her collapsing in front of the dementor traveled that fast?

"You missed the Sorting," Mandy said. "Eva got Sorted into Hufflepuff."

"She does embody Hufflepuff traits. She still thinks highly of her parents and believes that they will come back for her. She is tolerant of other people's religions, despite being raised to look down on all others," Michael explained. "She really loves hard work. If you set up some task where you tell her to move a large boulder like fifty feet away, by hand and alone, she would attempt to do it."

"What was that all about?" Mandy asked, looking at Hailey.

Hailey opened her mouth to explain, but Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak and Hailey closed her mouth.

Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of great energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles, and an extremely crooked nose. He was often described as the greatest wizard of the age, but that wasn't why Hailey respected him. You couldn't help trusting Albus Dumbledore, and as Hailey watched him beaming around at the students, she felt really calm for the first time since the dementor had entered the train compartment.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the demenetors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused and Hailey remembered Mr Weasley's words that Dumbledore wasn't happy with the dementors guarding the school.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises—or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly. Hailey, Mandy, and Michael looked each other. Hailey glanced behind her at the Gryffindor to catch Ron's eyes. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

"On a happier note," Dumbledore continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard, Hailey was among them. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

"Look at Snape," Mandy whispered in Hailey's ear.

Hailey looked over to see that Professor Snape, was staring along the staff table at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, but even Hailey, who hated Snape, was startled at the expression twisting his thin, sallow face. It was beyond anger: it was loathing. Hailey knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Hailey.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last term in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

Hailey, Michael, Mandy, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, stunned. They then joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Hailey leaned forward to see Hagrid, who was ruby-red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"We should've known!" Ron roared. It sounded like he was pounding the table with his fist. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?"

It seemed like the five were the last to stop clapping, and as Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that Hagrid was wiping his eyes on a tablecloth.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink. Hailey, suddenly ravenous, helped herself to everything she could reach and began to eat.

It was a delicious feast; the hall echoed with talk, laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks.

"How did Hagrid become a teacher?" Mandy asked, sounding a little confused.

Michael shrugged.

Hailey was eager for the feast to finish, so they could talk to Hagrid. She knew how much being made a teacher would mean to Hagrid and that he wasn't a fully qualified wizard, since he got expelled from Hogwarts in his third year for a crime he didn't commit. Last year, they had cleared Hagrid's name.

The last morsels of a pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them all to go to bed, they got their chance.

"Congratulations, Hagrid!" Hermione squealed as they reached the teachers' table. Unfortunately, Michael happened to be standing next to Hermione right as she squealed into his ear. "Sorry," she said to Michael.

"All down ter you five," said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on his napkin as he looked up at them. "Can' believe it…great man, Dumbledore…came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough…It's what I always wanted…" Overcome with emotion, he buried his face in his napkin, and Professor McGonagall shooed them away.

They walked away, Ron and Hermione breaking off to join the Gryffindors streaming up the marble staircase.

The three followed after the Ravenclaws up the spiraling staircase.

"Do you think he's really qualified to be a teacher, though?" Mandy asked. "I am happy for him and all, but…"

"I know what you mean," Michael said. "However, he is great with animals and all…"

After entering the Ravenclaw common room, and to the little alcove where Rowena Ravenclaw's statue was at, Mandy opened the door where the spiraling staircases to the dorms were located.

Hailey and Mandy climbed the staircase to the dorms. They stepped inside circular room to see that there were blue and bronze silks on the domed ceiling. There were five poster beds with sky blue cover and drapes for privacy. There was a door off to the side where there was a shower, sink, and toilet. There was the sound of wind whistling through the windows, which was actually very relaxing.

Hailey went to a window and looked out at the Great Lake. She knew that Michael had thalassophobia from when a kelpie dragged him underwater at a lake, when he was very young. He couldn't remember because Mandy's dad had used a spell on Michael to make him forget what happened. Michael was now paranoid of the Great Lake because he believes something will drag him in there. The giant squid lived in the lake and she was positive that it wouldn't just drag him under water. Maybe she could help him get over his fear, but she didn't know how.

Hailey turned around to look at the dormitory, feeling like she was finally home.


	6. Tea Leaves and Talons

When Hailey, Ron, Hermione, Michael, and Mandy entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entering a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. As they passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter.

Mandy turned to them, "D'you really think he's funny or does his father pay you to laugh at his jokes?"

"You should just ignore him," Hermione said, from behind Hailey. "Just ignore him; it's not worth it…"

"Hey, Potter!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl with a face like a pug. "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! _Woooooooo_!"

Hailey rolled her eyes and the three Ravenclaws dropped into their seats at their table.

"New course schedules," Stephen Cornfoot said, passing the schedules over to them. "What's up with you, Hailey?"

Hailey looked at him. Stephen had some sort of punk-rocker type of thing going on. He had shaggy black hair and a silver eyebrow piercing. He had a red and black studded wristband on his left wrist. On his right, he had a black and white studded wristband.

"Malfoy," Mandy answered for Hailey.

Michael and Stephen both looked at the Slytherin to see Malfoy doing another fainting in terror impression again.

Stephen snorted, "Hestia told me that Malfoy wasn't so brave last night when the dementors were down at the end of the train. He went running into a different compartment. She said that he nearly wet himself." He smirked.

"Hestia?" Michael asked confused.

Mandy glanced behind her, " _Carrow_?"

Hailey looked at Mandy, "Who?"

Mandy incredulous, asked, "A _Slytherin_?"

" _So_? She's my friend," Stephen replied a little crossly. "She and Flora can't stand Malfoy, either."

Hailey wasn't sure how or when that friendship even happened.

"I don't like the dementors being here," Michael said, changing the subject before a fight broke out over the table.

"They're terrible things," Mandy said, catching on.

"They sort of freeze your insides," Stephen said.

In a low voice, Hailey asked, "You didn't pass out, though, did you?"

"I think I almost did," Stephen said. "Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match. Ravenclaw versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

The only time Hailey and Malfoy had face each other in a Quidditch match, Malfoy had definitely come off worse. Feeling slightly more cheerful, Hailey helped herself to sausages and fried tomatoes.

"Looks like we're starting Divination and Care of Magical Creatures today," Mandy said looking at her schedule. "Ugh, we have Care of Magical Creatures with Slytherin."

"But we have it with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," Michael said. "I have Arithmancy first."

"We have Divination with Gryffindor first, and then Care of Magical Creatures after lunch," Hailey said.

"You know," Stephen said, cutting in the conversation. "I never saw a girl wear combat boots with her uniform before."

The three slowly looked at him and Stephen stared back. He asked, "What?"

Mandy shook her head and looked at her schedule. "Okay, first Divination, then Charms, then Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic, and Transfiguration."

"First, I have Ancient Runes," Michael said.

Hailey, for some odd reason, felt a bit disappointed at that. She knew that Michael didn't want to take Divination because he heard it was boring, but she still felt a little sad. She told herself that Michael had a right to take whatever classes he wanted. Besides, he thought that being a Curse Breaker wasn't that bad of a career option.

Hagrid entered the Great Hall, wearing his long moleskin overcoat and was absentmindedly swinging a dead polecat from one enormous hand.

"All righ'?" he said eagerly, pausing on the way to the staff table. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five getting' everythin' ready…Hope it's okay…Me, a teacher…hones'ly…"

He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table, still swinging the polecat.

"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" asked Ron, from across the aisle. There was a note of anxiety in his voice.

Hailey noticed how Michael and Mandy both looked pale.

"I wonder why he was swinging that polecat around like that," Michael said, now looking a little ill.

Mandy nodded with her eyes wide.

The hall was beginning to empty as people headed off towards their first lesson.

"We'd better go; we'd have ten minutes to get there…" Mandy said, looking at Hailey's watch.

They finished their breakfasts hastily, and walked back through the hall. As they passed the Slytherin table, Malfoy did yet another impression of a fainting fit. There were shouts of laughter.

" _You_ weren't so tough when you ran away from the dementor!" Mandy shouted at Malfoy as they walked out of the Great Hall.

Michael gave Hailey, Mandy, and Hermione a weird one-armed hug before setting off to his Arithmancy class. Last year, Hailey realized that Michael gave the best hugs, when he hugged them goodbye before he went home for the winter holidays.

The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long. Hailey had been at Hogwarts for two years, yet it hadn't taught her everything about the castle, because she'd never been inside North Tower before.

"They screwed up your schedule," Mandy said, holding Hermione's schedule to see if they might have anymore classes together. "I thought they would've knocked some of that off."

"There isn't enough _time_ ," Ron piped in.

"I'll manage. I've fixed it with Professor McGonagall," Hermione said.

"Did you pick the classes that you really wanted?" Mandy asked confused.

"I said I'll manage," Hermione replied curtly.

After climbing up their seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of a bare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall.

"I think it's this way," said Hermione, peering down the empty passage to the right.

"Can't be," said Ron, "That's south, look, you can see a bit of the lake out of the window…"

Before Hailey could say something, Mandy nudged her and pointed at the painting. They both watched a fat, dapple-grey pony that had ambled onto the grass and was grazing nonchalantly. A short, squat knight in a suit of armour clanked into the picture after his pony. By the look of the grass stains on his metal knees, he had just fallen off.

"Aha!" he yelled, seeing Hailey, Ron, Hermione, and Mandy. "What villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands! Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!"

The little knight tugged his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. The sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass.

"Are you all right?" asked Hailey, moving closer to the picture.

"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!" The knight seized his sword again and used it to push himself back up, but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though he pulled with all his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally, he had to flop back down onto the grass and push up his visor to mop his sweating face.

"Listen," said Hailey, taking advantage of the knight's exhaustion, "we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way, do you?"

"A quest!" The knight's rage seemed to vanish instantly. He clanked to his feet and shouted, "Come follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!"

"Perish bravely?" Mandy asked in a shrill voice.

The knight gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to mount the fat pony, gave up, and cried, "On foot then, good sir and gentle ladies! On! On!"

And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame and out of sight. They hurried after him along the corridor, following the sound of his amour. Every now and then, they spotted him running through a picture ahead.

"Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!" yelled the knight, and they saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of women in crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow spiral staircase.

Panting loudly, the four climbed the tightly spiraling steps, Ron and Hermione seemed to be getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last they heard the murmur of voices above them and knew they had reached the classroom.

"Farewell!" cried the knight, popping his head into a painting of some sinister-looking monks. "Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If ever you have the need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!"

"Yeah, we'll call you," muttered Ron as the knight disappeared, "if we ever need someone mental."

Mandy giggled and they climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a tiny landing, where most of the class was assembled. It looked like Hailey, Mandy, and Padma Patil were the only three Ravenclaws that took up Divination.

Hailey looked around the landing, to see that there were no doors off the landing, but Ron nudged Hailey and pointed at the ceiling, where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it.

"'Sibyll Trelawney, Divination teacher,'" Hailey read. "How're we supposed to get up there?"

The trapdoor suddenly opened and silvery ladder descended right at Hailey's feet. Everyone got quiet.

"After you," said Ron, grinning, so Hailey climbed the ladder first.

Hailey emerged into the strangest-looking classroom she had ever seen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all, most like a cross between someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop, which reminded Hailey of Rosa Lee Teabags in Diagon Alley.

There were at least twenty small, circular tables crammed inside the attic. The tables were surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little poufs. Everything was lit with a dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It was stifling warm, and the fire that was burning under the crowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume as it heated a large copper kettle. The shelves running around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers, stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless silvery crystal balls, and a huge array of teacups.

Ron appeared at Hailey's shoulder as the class assembled around them, all talking in whispers.

"Where is she?" Ron asked.

"Welcome," said a soft, misty sort of voice. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

"Hailey's immediate impression was of a large, glittering insect. Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and they saw that she was very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times their natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly next, and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings.

"Sit, my children, sit," Professor Trelawney said, and they all climbed awkwardly into armchairs or sank onto poufs. Hailey, Ron, Hermione, and Mandy sat themselves around the same round table.

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

Nobody said anything to this extraordinary pronouncement. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field…"

At these words, both Hailey and Ron glanced, grinning, at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. "It is a Gift granted to few. You boy," she said suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," said Neville tremulously.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tealeaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil, "beware a red-haired man."

Parvati and her twin sister Padma, who happened to be a Ravenclaw, both gave a startled look at Ron, who was behind them. Parvati edged her chair away from Ron.

"In the second term," Professor Trelawney went on, "we shall progress to the crystal ball—if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

Mandy gasped and there was tense silence following that pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed unaware of it.

"I wonder, dear," she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back in her chair, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot."

Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf, and put it on the table in front of Professor Trelawney, who said, "Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading—it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October." Lavender trembled. "Speaking of October," she looked over at Mandy, "One of the things you fear most will happen on one of your friends' birthdays."

Hailey frowned; the only one who had a birthday in October was Michael, which was on the twenty-fourth. She looked at Mandy, who had paled tremendously.

"Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of _Unfogging the Future_. I shall move along you, helping and instructing. Oh, and dear—" she caught Neville by the arm as he made to stand up, "After you've broken your first cup, would you be so kind to select one of the blue patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink."

Sure enough, Neville had no sooner reached the shelf of teacups when there was a tinkle of breaking china. Professor Trewlaney swept over to him holding a dustpan and brush and said, "One of the blue ones, then, dear, if you wouldn't mind…thank you…"

When Hailey and Ron had their teacups filled, they went back to their tables and tried to drink the scalding tea quickly. They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over.

"Right," said Ron as they both opened their books at pages five and six. "What can you see in mine?"

"A load of soggy brown stuff," said Hailey. The heavily perfumed smoke in the room was making her feel sleepy and stupid.

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom.

"You look like you've got a butterfly…" Mandy was saying to Hermione, "Which means…success and pleasure…then again it could be a bird…which means…good luck and a good journey…either way…you're going to have good luck and a good journey…possibly to success and pleasure…"

"You look like you have a greyhound…which means hard work being paid off with good fortune," Hermione said in an almost bored tone.

Hailey pulled herself together. "Right, you've got a crooked sort of cross…" She looked at _Unfogging the Future_. "Which means you're going to have 'trials and suffering'—sorry about that—but there's a thing that could be the sun…hang on…that means 'great happiness'…so you're going to suffer but be very happy…"

"You need your Inner Eye tested, if you ask me," said Ron, and the both of them stifled their laughter as Professor Trelawney gazed in their direction.

"My turn…" Ron peered into Hailey's teacup, his forehead wrinkled with effort. "There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat. Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic…" He turned the teacup the other way up. "But this way looks more like an acorn…What's that?" He scanned his copy of _Unfogging the Future_. "'A windfall, unexpected gold.' Excellent, you can lend me some…and there's a thing here," he turned the cup again, "that looks like an animal…yeah, if that was its head…it looks like a hippo…no, a sheep…"

Hailey snorted, causing Professor Trelawney to whirl around. "Let me see that, my dear," the professor said reprovingly to Ron. She swept over and snatched Hailey's cup from Ron. Everyone went quiet to watch. Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it counterclockwise. "The falcon…my dear, you have a deadly enemy."

"But everyone knows _that_ ," said Hermione in a loud whisper. Professor Trelawney stared at her. "Well, they do. Everybody knows about Hailey and You-Know-Who."

Hailey was amazed and admired, since she knew that Hermione would never speak to a teacher like that before. Professor Trelawney chose not to reply since she lowered her huge eyes to Hailey's cup again and continued to turn it, "The club…an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup."

"I thought that was a bowler hat," said Ron sheepishly.

Professor Trelawney continued as if she didn't hear Ron, "The skull…danger in your path, my dear…"

Everyone was now staring, transfixed, at Professor Trelawney, who gave the cup a final turn, gasped, and then screamed. There was another tinkle of breaking china; Neville had smashed his second cup. Professor Trelawney sank into a vacant armchair, her glittering hand at her heart and her eyes closed.

"Oh, dear, did she faint?" Mandy whispered.

Professor Trelawney said, "My dear girl…my poor, dear girl…no…it is kinder not to say…no…don't ask me."

"What is it, Professor?" said Dean Thomas at once.

Everyone had got to their feet, and slowly they crowded around Hailey and Ron's table, pressing close to Professor Trelawney's chair to get a good look at Hailey's cup.

"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically, "you have the Grim."

Hailey looked at _Unfogging the Future_ to figure out what that meant.

Mandy confused, asked, "the what?"

Hailey looked up to see that she wasn't the only one who didn't understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at her and Lavander Brown looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Hailey hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear girl, it is an omen—the worst omen—of _death_!"

Hailey's stomach lurched. That dog on the cover of _Death Omens_ in Flourish and Blotts—the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent…Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth too. Everyone was looking at Hailey, everyone except Hermione, who had gotten up and moved around to the back of Professor Trelawney's chair.

" _I_ don't think it looks like a Grim," Hermione said flatly.

Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione with mounting dislike. "You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."

Seamus Finnigan was tilting his head from side to side. "It looks like a Grim if you do this," his eyes were almost shut, "but it looks more like a donkey from here," he leaned to the left.

"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!" shouted Hailey, taking even herself by surprise. Now nobody seemed to want to look at her.

"I think we will leave the lesson here for today," said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest voice. "Yes…please pack away your things…"

Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Ron and Mandy were avoiding Hailey's eyes.

"Until we meet again," said Professor Trelawney faintly, "fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear," she pointed at Neville, "you'll be late next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up."

Hailey, Ron, Hermione, and Mandy descended Professor Trewlawney's ladder and the winding stair in silence, then set off in opposite directions; Hermione and Ron to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration lesson, Hailey and Mandy to Professor Flitwick's Charms lesson.

It took them so long to find Professor Flitwick's classroom that, early as they had left Divination, they were only just in time.

Hailey sat next to Michael, at the front of the class, with Mandy sitting at a desk next to Hailey's.

Professor Flitwick taught them a Seize and Pull Charm, but Hailey was still thinking about the Grim and being told she will die. Mandy and Padma kept looking over at her, as if he worried.

"What is going on with you three?" Professor Flitwick asked, as he looked over at the three.

Padma said, "Professor, we just came back from our first Divination class—"

"Say no more, Miss Patil," Professor Flitwick said. "Tell me, which one of you three will be dying this year?"

Everyone stared at the three.

"Me," Hailey said.

"I see," Professor Flitwick said, eyeing Hailey. "Sybil Trelawney had predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. Seeing death omens is her favourite way of greeting a new class." He looked at Hailey, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so I hope you don't mind that I'm not allowing you to skip doing homework tonight. I expect, that if you unexpectedly die overnight, you to return as a ghost and turn it in."

Hailey had to laugh, feeling a bit better. She wasn't sure why she was scared of a lump of tea leaves.

Mandy whispered, "But what about Neville's cup?"

When the Charms class had finished, they joined the crowd thundering toward the Great Hall for lunch.

"You know what's odd?" Michael asked, looking like he suddenly remembered something. "I remember seeing Hermione leaving with you and then she's suddenly showing up in Ancient Runes. Was she with you when you went to Divination?"

"Yeah," Hailey said, wondering where Michael was going with this.

"Maybe you saw someone who looked like her," Mandy said.

"I could recognize her bushy hair anywhere," Michael said.

Ron and Hermione walked up to them. Ron was looking disgruntled.

"What happened to you?" Hailey asked Ron.

"Hailey, you _haven't_ seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I have," Hailey said. "I saw one the night I left the Dursley's."

"Probably a stray," said Hermione calmly.

"That's what I told her," Michael said.

Ron looked at the two as if they both gone mad. "Hermione, Michael, if Hailey's seen a Grim, that's—that's bad. My—my uncle Bilius saw one and—and he died twenty-four hours later!"

"Coincidence," said Hermione airily.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron, getting angry. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"There you are, then," said Hermione in a superior tone. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Hailey's still with us because she's not stupid enough to see on and think, 'right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!'"

They ended up having to go separate ways, Ron, however, grabbed Hailey's arm and dragged her to the Gryffindor table.

Hermione opened her new Arithmancy book and propped it against the juice jug.

"I think Divination seems very woolly," Hermione said, searching for a page. "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."

"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" said Ron hotly.

"You didn't see quite so confident when you were telling Hailey it was a sheep," said Hermione coolly.

"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being bad at something for a change!"

Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot from the stew flew everywhere. "If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!" She snatched up her bag and stalked away.

Ron frowned after her and said to Hailey. "What's she talking about? She hasn't been to an Arithmancy class yet."

Hailey shrugged and walked to the Ravenclaw table.

"What was that all about?" Michael asked.

"Don't ask," Hailey said, getting some stew.

* * *

Hailey was glad to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale grey, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class.

Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. Hailey, Mandy, and Michael walked beside them in silence as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was only when she spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them, that she remembered that they were supposed to have the lessons with Slytherin. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Hailey knew what they were talking about.

Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called to as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

For one moment, Hailey thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest; Hailey had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last her a lifetime. She noticed how Michael tensed up, however, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it—make sure yeh can see—now firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books—"

"How?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Eh?" asked Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated. He took out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_ , which he had bound shut up a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some like Hailey, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

Mandy's _Monster Book_ , however, seemed tamed. She looked at Ron, Hermione, Michael, and Hailey. "My dad told me that you're supposed to stroke the spines."

"Hasn'—hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

Mandy raised her hand, the only one to do so. Hagrid seemed to perk up a little. "You're supposed to stroke the spines."

"Look—" said Hagrid, grabbing Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I—I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Hailey quietly. Hagrid was looking downcast and Hailey really wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so—so yeh've got yer books an'—an'—now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on…" He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Malfoy loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him—"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hailey repeated loudly.

Malfoy taunted, "Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you—"

Stephen Cornfoot countered, "You weren't so tough when you ran from them!"

"Ooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Hailey had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-coloured beaks and large, brilliantly orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Get up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence. "Hippogriffs!" He roared happily, waving a hand at them, "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

"Yes!" said Mandy, her eyes wide. She was bouncing on her feet, staring at the hippogriffs as if she was handed a life-time supply of headbands.

Hailey could sort of see what Mandy and Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing that was half-horse, half-bird, one started to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of tem a different colour; stormy grey, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer—"

No one seemed to want to. Ron, Hermione, Mandy, Michael, and Hailey were the only ones to approach the fence cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, the're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Mandy was nodding furiously and Michael nudged Hailey. He motioned to something and Hailey looked. She saw that Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone and Hailey had a nasty feeling they were plotting on how to disrupt the lesson.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right—who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed father away in answer. Hailey was having misgivings. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to life being tethered like that.

"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.

"I'll do it," Mandy and Hailey said at the same time. Mandy, however, was a little to eager.

There was an intake of breath from behind them. Lavander and Parvati whispered, "Ooh, no, Hailey, remember your tea leaves!"

Hailey ignored them as she and Mandy both climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good girls, Hailey an' Mandy!" roared Hagrid. "Right then—let's see how yeh two get on with Buckbeak." He untied one of the chains, pulled the grey hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.

"Easy, now, yeh two," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink. Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink to much…"

Hailey and Mandy stood shoulder-to-shoulder, keeping an eye on the hippogriff, not blinking. Hailey's eyes immediately began to water, but she didn't shut them. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at the two girls, one fierce orange eye on each girl.

"That's it," said Hagrid. "That's it, yeh two…now bow…"

Hailey didn't feel much like exposing the back of her neck to Buckbeak, but she did as she was told. She gave a short bow and then looked up.

The hippogriff was still staring haughtily at her. It didn't move.

"Ah," said Hagrid, sounding worried. "Right—back away, now, yeh two, easy does it—"

The hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow, to Hailey's surprise.

"Well done, yeh two!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right—yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Hailey felt like a better reward would have been to back, but they both moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. Hailey patted the beak several times as Mandy went to stroke its neck, slowly. The hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying the attention.

The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, yeh two," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might' let yeh ride him!"

"Really?" Mandy asked, excited.

That was more than Hailey had wanted. She was used to a broomstick; but she wasn't sure a hippogriff would be quite the same.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint," said Hagrid, "an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that…"

Mandy had clambered on top of Buckbeak's back and Hailey put her foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing. She hoisted herself onto its back and tightly grabbed a hold of Mandy's shoulders as Buckbeak stood up.

"Go on, then!" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriff's hindquarters.

Mandy started, "Wait, where do I grab—"

Twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of them. Mandy grabbed the hippogriff around the neck, before they were soaring upward. It felt nothing like a broomstick.

The wings beat uncomfortably on either side of them, catching her under legs and making Hailey feel like they were about to be thrown off.

Mandy was laughing with glee as the hindquarters of the hippogriff made them rock backward and forward with each rise and fall of its wings.

Buckbeak flew them once around the paddock and then headed back to the ground; Hailey was dreading landing. Mandy leaned back so she didn't go over the beak and Hailey had to back up a little. There was a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground.

Hailey held onto Mandy's shoulders and decided to get onto the ground. Mandy stayed on the hippogriff and she cooed at Buckbeak. She lovingly stroked Buckbeak's neck.

"Good work, yeh two!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cheered. "Okay, who else want a go?"

Emboldened by Hailey and Mandy's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock, as Hagrid went to untie the rest of the hippogriffs.

Soon people were bowing nervously all over the paddock.

Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knee. Ron, Hermione, and Michael went to practice on the chestnut. Mandy, reluctantly, got off of Buckbeak's back and they made their way to the chestnut hippogriff.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"I wonder what _his_ problem is," Mandy said, disgusted, looking at Malfoy.

"He's a prat," Michael said. "He hates Hagrid because…I'm not entirely sure why."

"I think it's because Malfoy's rich and he looks down on everyone who isn't," Mandy said.

"This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Hailey and Mandy to hear him. "I knew it must have been, if Potter and Brocklehurst could do it. I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and then Hagrid was wrestling with Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes.

"I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me—gotta get him outta here—"

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As they passed, Hailey saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.

Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The Slytherins, minus two short brown-haired girls, were all shouting about Hagrid.

"They should fire him straight away!" said Pansy Parkinson, who was in tears.

One of the brown-haired twins rolled her eyes. She looked like she had a skinnier face than her sister, who had a slight pudgier face. The skinnier faced girl whispered something to her sister, who nodded in agreement.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean Thomas. Crabb and Goyle flexed their muscles in what was supposed to be a threatening manner. Hailey wasn't intimidated and agreed with Dean Thomas. Malfoy obviously concocted the whole thing to get Hagrid because Malfoy hates him.

They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" said Pansy, and they all watched her run up the marble staircase. The Slytherins, still muttering about Hagrid, headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room; Hailey, Mandy, Michael, Ron, and Hermione proceeded upstairs to head to head to their next class.

"D'you think he'll be all right?" asked Hermione nervously.

"'Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second." said Hailey, who had ended up in the hospital wing with far worse injuries that had been mended magically.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it?" said Ron, looking worried. "Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him…"

"I wonder why he did that," Mandy said. The others looked at him.

"It's obvious," Michael said. "It's to get him fired."

* * *

They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinnertime, hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there.

"They _wouldn't_ fire him, would they?" said Hermione anxiously, not touching her steak-and-kidney pudding.

"They'd better not," said Ron, who wasn't eating either.

Hailey was watching the Slytherin table. A large group, including Crabbe and Goyle was huddled together, deep in conversation. Hailey was sure they were cooking up their own version of how Malfoy had been injured.

"Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back,"

Eva walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to Michael. She was grinning widely and seemed to not notice how tense Hailey, Michael, and Mandy were. "So far, my favourite classes are Herbology and Potions. I couldn't help but notice that Professor Snape is cute."

Mandy choked on her drink.

* * *

After dinner, they had gone to the Ravenclaw common room. They tried to do the homework that they had received from Professor McGonagall, but they kept breaking off to glance at one of the windows.

Mandy looked over at Michael's parchment. "Can you read your own handwriting?"

Michael looked at Mandy, "Yes."

"There's a light on in Hagrid's window," Hailey said.

Mandy looked at Hailey's watch. "If we hurry, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early…"

"Well…" Michael said, glancing at Hailey.

"I'm allowed to walk across the _grounds_ ," Hailey said. "Sirius Black hasn't got past the dementors yet, has he?"

So they put their things away and headed out the door, glad to meet nobody on their way to the front doors, as they weren't entirely sure they were supposed to be out.

The grass was still wet and looked almost black in the twilight. When they reached Hagrid's hut, they knocked, and a voice growled, "C'min."

Hagrid was sitting in his shirtsleeves at his scrubbed wooden table; his boarhound, Fang, had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told them that Hagrid had been drinking a lot; there was a pewter tankard almost as big as a bucket in front of him, and seemed to be having difficulty getting them into focus.

"'Spect it's a record," he said thickly, when he recognized them. "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before."

"But you haven't been fired," Mandy said.

"Not yet," said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever was in the tankard. "But 's only a matter o' time, i'n't it, after Malfoy…"

"How is he?" said Michael as they all sat down. "It wasn't serious, was it?"

"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could," said Hagrid dully, "but he's sayin' it's still agony…covered in bandages…moanin'…"

"He's faking it," said Hailey at once. "Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She regrew half my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all it's worth."

"School gov'nors have bin told, o' course," said Hagrid miserably. "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left hippogriffs fer later…done flobberworms or summat. Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson. 'S all my fault…"

"It's all _Malfoy's_ fault, Hagrid!" said Mandy earnestly.

"He just has to destroy something good," said Michael. "I reckon it would've gone well if he didn't decide to be a dumb-ass and insult the hippogriff."

"We're witnesses," said Hailey. "You said hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened."

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid. We'll back you up," said Michael. He had his arms crossed and Hailey noticed how good-looking he was. He wasn't wearing the robes or the blue and bronze tie.

Hailey looked away and at Hagrid, trying not to blush. Tears leaked out of the crinkled corners of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes. He grabbed both Hailey and Michael and pulled them into a bone-breaking hug.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid," said Mandy firmly. She took the tankard from the table and went outside to empty it.

"Ar, maybe she's right," said Hagrid, letting go of the two Ravenclaws, who both staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair and followed Mandy unsteadily outside. They heard a loud splash.

"What's he done?" asked Hailey nervously as Mandy came back in with the empty tankard.

"He stuck his head in the water barrel," Mandy said casually and went to put the tankard away.

Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping the water out of his eyes. "That's better," he shook his head like a dog and drenching them all. "Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really—" He stopped dead, staring at Hailey as though he'd only just realized she was there. "What d'yeh think you're doin, eh?" he roared so suddenly that they jumped a foot in the air. "Yeh're not to go wanderin' around after dark, Hailey! An' you two! Lettin' her!"

Hailey had latched onto Michael's arm, surprised and a little terrified of Hagrid yelling like that.

Hagrid strode over to Hailey, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the door, dragging Michael along with her.

"C'mon!" Hagrid said angrily. "I'm takin' yer all back up ter school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth that!"

Hailey held back from saying that he was their friend and that he's worth making sure if he's okay.


	7. The Boggart in the Wardrobe

The next day, Hailey, Mandy, and Michael were telling Ron and Hermione about going down to Hagrid's hut last night, when they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. They told the two Gryffindors what Hagrid had told them and what they had told Hagrid. Before they entered the Great Hall, Eva ran by them, giggling.

A girl shouted, "I'm going to kill you Evangeline Sinclair!" Eva ran inside the Great Hall and a very ticked off, bright purple-haired Hufflepuff chased after Eva.

"What did your cousin do?" Ron asked looking at Michael.

"I don't know," Michael responded. "I kind of don't want to know."

Hermione was looking in her bag, which was crammed with big and heavy books. She asked, "Michael, did you get that copy of runes that Professor Babbling wanted us to translate?"

Mandy asked, "Professor Babbling?"

"Our Study of Ancient Runes professor," Hermione and Michael said at the same time.

"She said that we're going to start that tomorrow," Michael said.

* * *

Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late that morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindor were halfway through double potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Hailey's opinion, as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace, but Hailey saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle were Pansy wasn't looking.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

Michael scowled at Hailey, who rolled her eyes at what Snape said. Snape wouldn't have said "settle down" if _they'd_ walked in late, he would have given them detention and remove points from Ravenclaw for the minutes they had missed. Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's classes since Snape was head of Slytherin House, and Snape generally favoured his own students above all others.

They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Hailey and Michael, so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table.

"Sir," Malfoy called, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm—"

"Corner, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," said Snape without looking up.

Michael looked disgusted and hissed at Malfoy, "There's nothing wrong with your arm."

Malfoy smirked across the table. "Corner, you heard Professor Snape; cut up these roots."

Michael seized the knife, pulled Malfoy's roots toward him, and beganto chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes. "Professor," drawled Malfoy, "Corner's mutilating my roots, sir."

Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Michael an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair. "Change roots with Malfoy, Corner."

Michael did as he told.

"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," said Malfoy, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," said Snape, giving Hailey the look of loathing he always reserved just for her.

Hailey took Malfoy's shrivelfig as Michael began trying to repair the damage to the roots he now had to use. Hailey skinned the shrivelfig as fast as she could and flung it back across the table at Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than ever.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asked them quietly.

"Like you give a damn," Michael said.

"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer," said Malfoy in a tone of mock sorrow. "Father's not very happy my injury—"

"Keep talking and I'll give you a real injury," Michael snarled.

"—he's complained to the school governors. _And_ to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this," Malfoy gave a huge, fake sigh, "who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again?"

"I knew it was to get Hagrid fired." Hailey muttered, accidentally beheading the caterpillar because her hands were shaking with anger.

"Well," said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, "partly, Potter. But there are other benefits too. Corner, slice my caterpillars for me."

"Hey, Hailey," said Terry Boot, leaning over to borrow Hailey's brass scales, "have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning—they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."

"Where?" asked Hailey and Michael quickly. On the other side of the table, Malfoy looked up, listening closely.

"Not too far from here," said Terry, who looked excited. "It was a Muggle who saw him. 'Course, she didn't really understand. The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phone telephone hotline. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone."

"Not too far from here…" Michael repeatedly, looking at Hailey. He turned around and saw Malfoy watching closely. "What, Malfoy? Need something else skinned?"

Malfoy's eyes were shining malevolently, and they were fixed on Hailey and he leaned across the table. "Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?"

"Yeah, that's right," said Hailey offhandedly.

Malfoy's thin mouth was curving into a mean smile. "Of course, if it was me," he said quietly, "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good student. I'd be out there looking for him."

Michael snorted, "Yeah, right. Your father would send someone out to find him for you."

"What are you blathering on about, Malfoy?" asked Hailey.

"Don't you _know_ , Potter?" breathed Malfoy, his pale eyes narrowed.

"Know what?" demanded Hailey growing frustrated.

Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh. "Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck. Want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."

Hailey angrily said, " _What are you talking about_?"

"You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it simmer," Snape said, right as Hailey snapped at Malfoy.

Hailey and Michael packed away their unused ingredient and went to wash their hands and ladles in the stone basin in the corner.

"What did Malfoy mean?" Hailey asked Michael as she stuck her hands under the icy jet that poured from the gargoyle's mouth. "Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me—yet."

"I don't know," Michael said shrugging. "I can ask Terry about it, but I'm not sure how much he would know."

"What was going on with Malfoy?" Mandy asked and they took turns explaining to her. She frowned, "I could ask Stephen about it. He's friends with Hestia." She glanced over at a table. "Maybe they might know."

* * *

Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had a few square meals.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags? Today will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

Mandy and Hailey exchanged a look as they put away their books. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts before, unless one counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher had brought a cage full of pixies to class and set them loose.

"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready, "if you'd follow me."

Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom. Hailey couldn't help but notice that the Slytherins were giving dirty looks towards Professor Lupin's shabby clothes.

Professor Lupin led them again the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergiest, who was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.

Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song, "Loony, loopy Lupin," Peeves sang. "Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin—"

Rude and unmanageable as he almost always was, Peeves usually showed some respect toward the teachers. Hailey looked quickly at Professor Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling. "I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he said pleasantly. "Mr Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."

Filch was the caretaker, a bad-tempered, failed wizard who waged a constant war against the students, and indeed, Peeves. However, Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry.

Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand. "This is a useful little spell," he told the class over his shoulder. "Please watch closely."

He raised the wand to shoulder height, said, " _Waddiwasi_!" and pointed it at Peeves.

With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril; he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing.

"Cool, sir!" said Anthony Goldstein in amazement.

"Thank you, Anthony," said Professor Lupin, putting his wand away again. "Shall we proceed?"

The class set off again, Hailey was beginning to respect the shabby professor. At least he knew and can do magic, or at least wasn't scared of his own shadow. Professor Lupin led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.

"Inside, please," said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing back.

The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."

He got to his feet and strode out the door.

"Now, then," said Professor Luupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robs. Hailey remembered hiding in there last term with Ron and Michael when they went to go tell Professor McGonagall where they thought the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was located.

As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe wobbled, banging off the wall, causing Hailey to grab Michael's arm, surprised. A few others jumped backward alarmed.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly. "There's a boggart in there. Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks—I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. _This_ one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the stag would leave it to give my third years some practice. So, the first question we must ask ourselves is; what _is_ a boggart?"

The Ravenclaws and the twin girls that were in Slytherin raised their hands. Hailey was sure that they were Flora and Hestia.

Professor Lupin called on Terry.

"It's a shape-shifter. It takes the shape of whatever scares us," Terry explained.

Michael paled at that and Hailey patted his arm in comfort.

"So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Hailey?"

Hailey blinked, caught off guard. She was listening, but she wasn't expecting to get called on. "Er—" she looked around and back at Professor Lupin, "because there are so many of us, it won't know shape it should be."

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes so confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse of a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake—tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggarts is _laughter_. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice that charm without wands first. After me, please… _riddikulus_!"

" _Riddikulus_!" said the class in unison.

"This class is _riddikulus_ ," Hailey heard Malfoy say.

"Good, very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. I would like all of you to take a moment to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical…"

The room went quiet and Hailey thought, _what scared me the most in the world?_ She thought of Voldemort returning to full strength and before she can even think of a counter-attack on boggart-Voldemort, another thought entered her mind. She thought of a rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black cloak…a long rattling breath from an unseen mouth…then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning…

Hailey shivered and glanced at the Slytherins, who didn't seem to notice. She looked at Mandy, who was staring at the corner in the ceiling, and she whispered, "Do that dance..."

Remus asked, "Everyone ready?"

Hailey felt her heart speed up, not knowing how to make a dementor funny. She wasn't ready, but she noticed that everyone else was nodding. She hoped that Professor Lupin didn't call on her first.

"Terry Boot, we're going to back away. Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the first person forward. Everyone back, now, so Terry can get a clear shot—"

Terry was looking embarrassed to be the center of attention. The class retreated, backing up against the walls, leaving Terry alone beside the wardrobe. He was holding his wand, looking pale, but determined.

"On the count of three, Terry," said Professor Lupin, pointing his wand at the handle of the wardrobe, "One—two-three— _now_!"

A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. A snake rolled out of the wardrobe, hissing and it turned its eyes on Terry.

Hailey had to resist the urge to run over and yell at the snake to not attack Terry. If she did, it would change into a dementor and she didn't want to take her chances in front of the Slytherins, especially Malfoy. He would have a field day with _that_.

" _Riddikulus_!" Terry shouted, and there was a whip crack sound. The snake turned into a harmless skipping rope.

"Mandy! Forward!" Lupin said and Mandy stepped forward, shaking.

There was another crack and where the skipping rope stood, was a heavily bleeding man. He fell to the ground and reached out to Mandy, as if asking for help.

Hailey was positive that was what Mandy's worst fear was; her dad getting injured at his job, where he worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

"R—r— _Riddikulus_!" Mandy shouted, sounding like she was near tears. There was a crack and her dad got up and started doing some funny sort of jig.

Hailey didn't pay much attention as Flora and Hestia had their turns because she was wondering what the boggart would turn into when Michael got up there. Would it turn into a lake, pond, or kelpie? She wasn't sure.

"Michael," Lupin ordered.

Michael walked past Mandy and there was another crack. Mandy's dancing dad turned into a kelpie, which Hailey had seen pictures of and Hailey could've sworn that she heard some Slytherins bust out laughing, before trying to stifle it.

" _Riddikulus_!" Michael said, and there was a crack. It turned into a carousel type of horse.

Soon, more students were going forward, with all the cracking, Hailey couldn't tell when her turn was, through all of the fears.

Pansy Parkison was apparently afraid of a giant spider, which she made sure it lost its legs, which turned and rolled over, landing at Hailey's feet. Before she can tackle it, before Padma even had her turn—

"Here!" shouted Lupin, hurrying forward.

 _Crack_!

The legless spider had vanished and Hailey looked around, to see where the boggart was. There was a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who lazily said, " _Riddikulus_." The orb deflated like a balloon.

With that, class resumed and Hailey couldn't help but notice that she hadn't had a turn, after Blaise Zabini made the boggart exploded in wisps of smoke after his turn.

"Excellent!" cried Professor Lupin as the Ravenclaws gave him a round of applause. "Excellent. Well done, everyone…Let me see five points to Ravenclaw and Slytherin for every person to tackle the boggart…and five points each to Hailey and Terry."

"But I didn't do anything," said Hailey, confused.

"You answered my question correctly at the start of the class, Hailey," said Lupin lightly. "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me…to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."

Talking excitedly, the class left the staffroom. Hailey, however, wasn't feeling cheerful. Professor Lupin had deliberately stopped her from tackling that boggart. _Why?_ She wondered, _was it because he thought I might collapse again, like on the train? Did Professor Lupin think that I'm not up to it, yet?_ She wasn't listening to the excited chatter of the Ravenclaws talking about what they did to the boggarts that had transformed into their worst fear. She wasn't paying attention so she jumped when someone put their arm around her shoulders and she turned to the person to see that it was Stephen Cornfoot.

"Do you think that it was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we ever had?" Stephen asked, shaking her shoulders as they walked to the classroom. Michael kept looking back at Stephen's arm, getting a odd look on his face, as if he was slightly offended.

"Yes, but do you think that it's odd that Professor Lupin is afraid of crystal balls?" Mandy said to him.

Stephen rubbed Hailey's shoulder with his left hand, "Not really."

With that, he wandered off and Hailey was left feeling highly confused by Stephen's actions. She said, "That was…odd." They went to class to get their bags so they can go to Herbology. She had plenty to tell to Hermione and Ron.

* * *

After Herbology, before dinner, the five left the greenhouse, talking about Professor Lupin's lesson.

"He seems like a good teacher," Hermione said. "But I wonder why he didn't let Hailey take on the boggart."

Mandy glanced at Hailey and said, "I think that it was—" she cut herself off and turned around, "Hermione? Where is she?"

Ron, Hailey, and Michael both turned around to see, but Hermione was gone. They were halfway to the castle.

"Where did she go?" Michael asked, looking confused.

"She was just right beside me," Mandy said.

There was a small break in the Gryffindors and Hailey managed to spot Hermione's bushy hair among the crowd. SHe pointed, "There she is!"

Hermione was panting slightly, one hand clutching her bag and the other hand seemed to be stuffing something down the front of her robes. She caught up to them.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked.

"What?" Hermione asked, joining them again.

"One minute you were right beside Mandy, the next moment, you were back over by the greenhouse again," Ron said.

"What?" Hermione asked, looking slightly confused. "Oh—I had to go back for something. Oh no—"

A seam had split on Hermione's bag. Hailey wasn't surprised, because it had to break sooner or later.

"Why are you carrying all these around with you?" Ron asked.

"You know how many subjects I'm taking," Hermione said breathlessly. "Couldn't hold these for me, could you?"

"But—" Ron started, turning over the books that Hermione handed him, to look at the covers. "You didn't have any of these classes today."

"Oh, yes," said Hermione vaguely, as Mandy performed the Mending Charm on Hermione's bag to repair the seam. Hermione took the books back from Ron and packed them back in her bag. "I hope there's something good for dinner. I'm starving," and with that, she marched off to the castle.

Hailey couldn't help but that a little odd as well. Today was just turning out to be a very odd day.

"Do you all get the feeling that Hermione's not telling us something?" Ron asked the three Ravenclaws, who nodded in agreement.


	8. Flight of the Fat Lady

A/N: Jonathan Lipnicki is the face-claim for Colton Taylor.

Many thanks to gaywhovian93 for giving me a face-claim for Colton Taylor.

Many thanks to Slytherclaw for the idea with Michael and Hermione Now _that_ is going be fun to write.

* * *

In no time, Hailey's favourite class had to be Defense Against the Dark Arts. She wasn't the only one who favourited the class since it seemed like it was everyone else's favourite class. Only Draco and his group of Slytherin's had bad things to say about Professor Lupin.

"Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old house-elf."

No one seemed to care that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. After boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblinlike creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed; in the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had gotten lost. From Red Caps they moved on to kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds. Michael was said that he was glad that he didn't get strangled by a kappa when he was young.

After turning in their parchment to Professor Lupin after doing homework on kappas, Professor Lupin said, "Michael, I would like to have a word with you."

Michael looked a little horrified and he walked up to Professor Lupin's desk. "Did I do too many inches of parchment?"

"You're not in trouble for that," Professor Lupin said. "I just wanted to tell you to try and write a little neater. I don't like staying up late trying to decipher what you write."

Michael looked like he relaxed a little. "All right, Professor. I'll do my best to write neater."

Professor Lupin nodded, "You may leave."

The three Ravenclaws walked away and Mandy was giggling. "You got told."

Michael glared at her.

With the way the other classes were going, Hailey wished she was happy with them. Worst of all was Potions. Snape was in a particularly vindictive mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The story of the boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and Ron had told Hailey that Snape was bullying Neville worse than ever.

Hailey was beginning to dread going to Divination. She didn't wants to spend hours in Professor Trewlawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trewlawney's enormous eyes filled with tears every time she looked at Hailey. She couldn't like Professor Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering on reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had taken on to haunting Professor Trelawney's tower room at lunchtimes, and always returned with annoying superior looks on their faces as though they knew things the others didn't. They had also started using hushed voices whenever they spoke to Hailey, as though she was on her deathbed.

After the action-packed first lesson with Care of Magical Creatures, it had become extremely dull, so no one liked it. Hagrid had seemed to lose his confidence. They were now spending lesson after lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence.

"Why would anyone _bother_ looking after them?" said Ron after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' slimy throats.

At the start of October, however, Hailey had other things to occupy her. The Quidditch season was approaching, and Roger Davies, Captain of the Ravenclaw team, called a meeting one Thursday evening. They had to hold try-outs to find two new Chasers, because Jeremy Stretton and Randolph Burrow, the previous Chasers had already graduated. On top of that, Michael's birthday was approaching and Hailey still hadn't had a clue what to get him, but she wanted to get him something nice. Also, if Professor Trelawney's prediction was true, Mandy's worst fear will happen on Michael's birthday. If Mandy's boggart was anything to go by, her dad would be seriously injured, probably during a job. Hailey was surprised her hair hadn't started to grey from all the stress.

One evening, after the try-outs, Nicholas Chambers and John Bradley, two second-year boys had made the team, Hailey returned to the Ravenclaw common room, cold and stiff, but glad that two second-years made it. She found the common room buzzing excitedly. She was momentarily confused and then the reality crashed on her. On Halloween was the first Hogsmeade trip. Hailey walked over to the table where Michael and Mandy were seated at. Michael was doing something for his Ancient Runes class and Mandy was doing something with twigs for her Xylomancy extra-curricular class. She kept looking between the pile of twigs and her Xylomancy book, which was written by Selina Sapworthy. In Hailey's opinion, it was an appropriate last name.

"Does that even work?" Hailey asked, sitting down in a chair.

Mandy shrugged, "I'm actually excited for this class. We're going to learn Dendromancy and Spodomancy."

Michael looked at Mandy; his head tilted to the side and was giving Mandy this, 'what the hell are you talking about' look. "That just sounds made up."

"Spodomancy is the art and practice of using ashes, soot, and cinders from ritual or sacrificial fires, to divine the past, present, and future," Mandy explained.

"What is Dendromancy?" Michael asked.

"We just burn oak and mistletoe and interpret the smoke's patterns," Mandy said. Michael just looked flabbergasted as that. "Well, there's also Geomancy, but Professor Trelawney says that we're not going into that till next year."

Michael looked confused, "Geomancy?"

"The art and practice of Divination by signs derived from the earth," Mandy explained.

Michael stared, "How do you do that?"

"One method is throwing dirt in the air, so it can land on a flat surface and interpret the patterns from that," Mandy explained.

Michael started, "That—"

"Michael, remember our first year? She did Ovomancy," Hailey reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," Michael responded.

Hailey was glad that they didn't mention Hogsmeade in her presence. Just thinking about it made her spirits lower and she looked over at Michael's parchment. "Wow, you're actually trying to write neater."

"Yeah," Michael said shrugging. "He was the only one who told me to write neater. It's kind of odd, really. He's the only one to tell me to write neater."

* * *

The next day, Ron and Hermione seemed liked they weren't talking to each other. According to Neville, the two had a fight about Crookshanks and Scabbers. Crookshanks attacked Scabbers and Hermione was trying to defend Crookshanks by saying that the cat's instinct was to attack rats.

In Herbology, they were stripping fat pink pods from a puffapod.

"How's Scabbers?" Hermione asked timidly.

"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking," said Ron angrily.

"Careful, Weasley, careful!" cried Professor Sprout as beans bloomed right before their eyes. Apparently Ron missed the pail in his anger and scattered some beans. After Herbology, they headed to the castle for their next classes.

"Ask McGonagall if you can down to Hogsmeade," Ron told Hailey. "The next one might not be for ages—"

" _Ron_!" admonished Hermione. "Hailey's supposed to stay _in school_ —"

"She can't be the only third year left behind," said Ron. "Ask McGonagall or Flitwick, go on, Hailey—"

"I'll think about it," Hailey said. She knew that the two professors will say no. If the Minister of Magic himself refused to give her permission to go to Hogsmeade, then why would two professors sign her permission form? Well, the Minister didn't sign it because of Sirius Black, but she was positive that they would use Sirius Black against her, anyway. So why bother them when they would just agree with the Minister anyway?

But there could always be a chance…Hailey had to push that thought from her head.

* * *

Near the end of Charms, Hailey made up her mind; she wasn't going to ask Professor Flitwick if he could allow her to go to Hogsmeade. She already knew the answer and she didn't want to deal with the crushing hope that it would bring. However, that feeling that there could be a chance didn't leave her.

The bell rang, causing her to jump.

"One moment, please!" Flitwick called to the class, as they got ready to leave. "As you're all in my House, you should hand in your Hogsmeade permission forms to me in my office before Halloween. If you don't have the form, you're not allowed to visit the village."

When the five met up for lunch, Ron and Hermione looking like they're not speaking again to each other, Ron asked, "Did you ask him?"

"No," Hailey responded.

"Why not?" Ron demanded.

"What happened to you two?" Mandy asked, before Hailey can even answer Ron's question.

Ron said, "Oh, Hermione doesn't care about other people's pets besides her own."

Hermione looked affronted, "I was just telling Lavender that her rabbit probably died before today, since she just got the news."

Mandy looked slightly worried now. Hailey was reminded of Professor Trelawney's prediction. If Professor Trelawney was right, Mandy's worst fear would become real.

"I guess…Hermione has a point," Michael said looking extremely uncomfortable.

Ron gave him a dirty, as if insulted that Michael didn't take his side.

* * *

Hermione was looking pleased that Hailey didn't even bother asking Professor Flitwick permission to go to Hogsmeade, which seemed to anger Ron even more. Hailey had to endure everyone talking loudly and happily about Hogsmeade.

"There's always the feast," said Ron, in an effort to cheer Hailey up. "You know, the Halloween feast in the evening."

Hailey muttered grumpily, "Yeah, great."

Ron offered to have Dean Thomas, who was apparently good with a quill, forge Uncle Vernon's signature, but Hailey shot that down. She wasn't sure how Dean knew her uncle's signature and she was sure that Professor Flitwick would know that it was forged. Ron then half-heartedly told Hailey to use the Invisibility Cloak, which made Hermione remind Ron that the dementors can see through Invisibility Cloaks.

Percy tried to offer words of comfort to Hailey. "They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, Hailey, it's not all it's cracked up to be. All right, the sweetshop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth's a visit, but really, Hailey, apart from that, you're not missing anything."

Hailey thought those were the world's least helpful words of comfort.

* * *

The twenty-fourth came, so far, nothing about Mandy's dad being injured came. Then again, it was morning, but Mandy seemed to be on edge.

The owl post swooped in and about fourteen sweets were dumped on Michael. Apparently it was a thing his family did; he gets the same amount of sweets every year he turned. Since it was Michael's fourteenth birthday, his parents bought him fourteen sweets.

Eva came skipping over and hugged Michael. "Happy fourteenth birthday, Mikey." She gave Michael a very big kiss on the cheek, much to Michael's disgust, and to some of the Ravenclaws' confusion. Eva proceeded to grab a few sweets and walked away.

Michael was wiping his cheek off, now looking a little disgruntled. "She does that. Every. Year. Well, nearly every year."

"What? Kiss you on the cheek or steal your sweets?" Mandy asked, sounding absentminded.

"Both," Michael said, passing Hailey the Crunchie bars and passed Mandy some sweets, which was promptly ignored.

Hailey frowned, "You do know that Trelawney said that your worst fear will come true on our friend's birthday in October. She didn't specify the year."

Mandy nodded, but she still looked absentminded.

* * *

It was the evening, when Professor Flitwick walked up to the table that the three Ravenclaws were doing homework together.

"Miss Brocklehurst, I need you to come with me," Professor Flitwick said.

Mandy dropped her quill because her hand started shaking. She paled and she followed Professor Flitwick out of the common room, getting confused looks from the other Ravenclaws.

"I hope her dad will be okay," Hailey said, growing worried and Michael nodded.

"Me too," Michael said. "She'll tell us what happened, right?"

"Obviously," Hailey said dryly.

"Maybe it can't be that bad," Michael said. "Maybe it's something good."

Hailey countered, "Something so good that they couldn't send an owl?"

"You have a point there," Michael said.

Hailey just smiled at him in victory.

* * *

Mandy didn't turn up the next day. Hermione and Ron still didn't seem like they weren't talking to each other. As they walked to the Great Hall, Hermione asked, "Where's Mandy?"

"Professor Flitwick took her somewhere," Hailey responded.

"Oh," Hermione said. "I hope everything's all right."

"Yeah," Hailey responded, "Me too."

When the owls swooped in, Hailey was expecting to get a letter from Mandy, but they didn't get one.

* * *

Mandy didn't appear for the rest of the day, so Michael and Hailey had to take notes for her as best as they could.

It was the evening when Mandy finally walked through the door, looking pale but a little happy.

She sat at their table, and rested her head on her arms.

"So, anything interesting happened?" Michael asked and Hailey kicked him under the table.

Mandy lifted her head and looked at Hailey. "Did you kick him?"

"No," Hailey said quickly.

Mandy eyed Hailey and shrugged, "My dad will be fine. Just almost lost three of his ribs, but he'll be all right."

Michael made a face, "That's good."

Hailey looked in her bag and took out a few rolls of parchment. "Here, we took notes for you."

"Did Michael take them too?" Mandy asked, smirking slightly.

"My writing is getting better," Michael said, crossing his arms.

Mandy and Hailey busted out laughing relieved that everything was going to be all right.

Hailey calmed down and looked at Mandy. "Should we write your dad a get well soon card?"

Mandy shook her head, "He doesn't like pity. It's his job; of course he's going to be hurt."

"What attacked him, anyway?" Michael asked and Hailey kicked him again.

Mandy gave Hailey an odd look at that. "Oh, he just got in a tussle with a few grindylows, that's all."

"At least he's okay and that's all that matters." Hailey said and Michael nodded.

Mandy looked at the parchment and sighed, "I'm going up to bed."

Hailey looked at the rolls. "Shouldn't you get caught up with your work?"

"I'll do it in the morning," Mandy said. "I'm just tired. I spent most of the night worrying about my dad." She rubbed her face, took the parchment, and went to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, and opened the door that was behind the statue.

"At least it wasn't _that_ serious," Michael said.

"I still think that almost losing a few ribs is serious," Hailey said, "Especially because of the lung being right there…"

"Oh, good point," Michael responded.

* * *

Halloween came and Hailey woke up with the rest and went down to breakfast with her friends, feeling highly depressed, yet she was trying to act like everything was okay. She couldn't help but notice that Ron and Hermione seemed to have forgotten their argument about Crookshanks and Scabbers.

"We'll bring you lots of sweets from Honeydukes," said Hermione, looking sorry for Hailey.

"Yeah, loads," said Ron.

"Don't worry about me," said Hailey, trying to go for an offhand manner. "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."

Mandy and Michael looked at her. Michael looked like he was going to say something, but didn't. Hailey accompanied her friends to the entrance hall, where Filch, the caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.

"Staying here, Potter?" shouted Malfoy, standing with Crabbe and Goyle. "Scared of passing the dementors?"

Hailey tried to ignore that jab and Mandy shouted, "Hey, Malfoy! Don't run from the dementors this time, okay?"

Hailey didn't bother sticking around to hear what Malfoy had said to Mandy, as she made her up to Ravenclaw Tower. She somehow made it through the riddle on the door, and walked in. The first and second years were occupying the room, along with older students who visited Hogsmeade so much, that the novelty had worn off.

Luna Lovegood and her best friend, Colton Taylor, Neville's cousin, were occupying a table. The both of them were reading a magazine upside down.

Colton had sandy blond hair and he wore glasses. He also wore blue and bronze kilts, because he was Scottish. He had a calf-sheath for his wand on right calf. Colton looked up at Hailey and asked, "Hailey, why aren't you with the other third years?" He sounded confused.

Hailey shrugged and walked out of the common room. She wandered dispiritedly to the library, where Eva was currently heading too.

Eva looked at Hailey, confused. "Why aren't you with Michael and the others?" Hailey just shrugged in response, slightly annoyed that she got asked that question again. "I was just heading to the library to do some homework. I can't work with Madison around."

Hailey frowned, "Is she being mean to you?"

"Kind of," Eva said and eyed Hailey. "Hey, do you know what's going on with Michael? A few days ago, I saw him and Hermione having what looked like a very intense conversation in a deserted hallway."

Hailey's eyebrows rose at that, thought about it, and shrugged. "They could've been debating runes, since they have Ancient Runes together."

Eva opened her mouth and Filch snarled, "What are you doing?" He sounded suspicious.

"Nothing," Hailey said truthfully.

"I was going to the library," Eva said, looking a little afraid.

"Nothing!" spat Filch, completely ignoring Eva's presence, "A likely story! Sneaking around—why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

"Leave her alone," Eva said.

Filch turned to look at Eva and Hailey both. He snapped, "Well, get back to your common rooms where you two belong!" He stood glaring until Eva hurried into the library and Hailey passed out of sight.

Hailey didn't go back to the common room. She climbed up a staircase, thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig. However, her thoughts turned to the conversation she had with Eva. What where Hermione and Michael talking about that was so intense? She walked along another corridor when she heard, "Hailey?" from inside one of the rooms.

Hailey doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you doing?" asked Lupin, though his tone sounded friendlier than the one Filch used. "Where are your friends?"

"Hogsmeade," said Hailey, in what she hoped was a causal voice.

"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Hailey for a moment. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

"Mandy's dad almost got three of his ribs ripped out by a few grindylows, just last week," Hailey blurted out for some reason.

Professor Lupin looked a little baffled at what Hailey said, but Hailey followed him inside the office to see that in the corner stood a very large tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly fingers.

"Oh, that's what they look like in person," Hailey said, resisting the urge to make faces back at the water demon.

"We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip," Professor Lupin said.

Hailey watched as the grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a tangle of weeds in a corner.

"Cup of tea?" Lupin offered, looking around for his kettle. "I was just thinking of making one."

"Sure," said Hailey, feeling awkward.

Lupin found the kettle and tapped it with his wand, causing a blast of steam to come from the spout. "Sit down," he took the lid off a dusty tin. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid—but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"

Hailey looked at him, to see that his eyes were twinkling. She asked, "How did you know that?"

"Professor Flitwick told me," said Lupin, passing Hailey a chipped mug of tea. "You're not worried, are you?"

"No," said Hailey, truthfully. Professor Flitwick didn't seem too worried, either. She considered telling Lupin about the dog she had seen in Magnolia Crescent, but decided not to. She didn't want Lupin to think she was cowardly, especially since Lupin already seemed to think she couldn't fight a boggart.

Lupin asked, "Something worrying you, Hailey?"

"No," Hailey lied. She drank a bit of tea and watched the grindylow brandishing a fist at her. She resisted brandishing a fist back at it and sticking out her tongue. She didn't want Lupin to think she was loony on top of cowardly. "Yes," she admitted, putting the mug down on the desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart?"

"Yes," answer Lupin slowly.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" asked Hailey.

Lupin raised his eyebrows. "I would have though that was obvious, Hailey." He sounded surprised.

Hailey expected Lupin to deny that was surprised. She again, asked, "Why?"

Lupin frowned slightly. "Well, I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

Hailey stared, because that was last answer she was suspecting. However, she was a little surprised that Lupin said Voldemort's name, since the only person Hailey had ever heard the name said out loud was Professor Dumbledore.

"Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Hailey. "But I didn't think it was good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."

"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Hailey truthfully. "I—I remembered those dementors." She admitted.

"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. "Well, well…I'm impressed." Hailey was surprised and saw that Lupin was smiling. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is—fear. Very wise, Hailey."

Hailey wasn't sure how to respond so she picked up the mug and drank some more tea.

"So, you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the boggart?" asked Lupin.

"Well…" Hailey started and then admitted, "Yeah." She was feeling a lot happier about that now. "Professor Lupin, you know the dementors—" there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," called Lupin.

The door opened and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Hailey. He looked at Lupin and Hailey, his eyes narrowed.

"Ah, Severus," said Lupin, smiling. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Hailey and Lupin again.

"I was just showing Hailey my grindylow," said Lupin pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

"Fascination," said Snape, without bothering to look at it. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"Yes, yes, I will," said Lupin.

"I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued, "If you need more."

"I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus," Lupin said.

"Not at all," said Snape. Hailey didn't like the look in Snape's eye. Snape backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.

Hailey looked at the goblet, wondering what it was for.

"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me," Lupin said. "I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. "Pity sugar makes it useless," he added, taking a sip and shuddering.

Hailey started. "Why—?"

"I've been feeling a bit off-colour," Lupin said, answering Hailey's unfinished question. "This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it." He took another sip.

Hailey eyed Lupin's face, noticing that he did look slightly pale, but she still had the crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands. "Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts," Hailey blurted out.

"Really?" asked Lupin, looking only mildly interesting as he took another gulp of potion.

"Some people reckon—" Hailey stopped and then continued, "some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

Lupin finished drinking the potion and pulled a face. "Disgusting," he said. "Well, Hailey, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you at the feast later."

"Right," said Hailey, putting down the empty teacup. She looked at the goblet to see that it was still smoking.

* * *

"Here, we got you as much as we could carry," Mandy said, dumping a shower of brilliantly coloured sweets onto the table that Hailey was sitting at in the common room. It was dusk and Mandy and Michael had just up in the common room, both pinked-faced from the cold wind. They both looked like they'd just had time of their lives.

"Thanks," Hailey muttered. She picked up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps. "What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?"

Mandy started telling Hailey and from the sound of it, they went everywhere: Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places.

Michael was saying that Hermione was fascinated by the post owl. "There were about two hundred owls, all sitting on shelves, all colour-coded depending on fast you want your letter to get there."

Mandy was saying and pointing at the pile of sweets. "Honeydukes got a new kind of fudge; they were giving out free samples, there's a bit, look—"

Michael said, "Ron was saying that he wished we could have brought you some butterbeer. It really warms you up—"

"What did you do?" asked Mandy, looking at Hailey. "Did you get any work done?"

"First, I was going to the library and ran into Eva," Hailey said. She looked at Michael, "she said that you and Hermione were having some sort of intense conversation a few days ago. What was it about?" She wasn't sure why she was being irrational about it. Maybe it was because she didn't know about it. Mandy looked at Michael, confused.

Michael crossed his arms, "Oh. That? It was just a personal thing. It's nothing to worry about." He had a slightly defensive tone.

"If either of you having problems over something…" Mandy started.

"We just figured some stuff out and settled it," Michael said. "Like I said, there's no need to worry about it."

"Did you two hide a dead body?" Mandy whispered.

Michael stared at her. "No…"

Mandy was still confused, "Then what was—"

"Just drop it," Michael said annoyed.

Mandy blinked rapidly at that.

"Anyway…" Hailey interrupted. "Profesor Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office and then Snape came in…" she told them all about the goblet.

Michael and Mandy stared at her.

"And he drank it?" Michael asked.

Mandy checked her watch. "We should go down to the Great Hall. You should probably tell Hermione and Ron about it, as well."

They left through the door and made their way down to meet up with the two Gryffindors. Hailey hurriedly explained to Ron and Hermione about Lupin and the goblet.

Ron's mouth fell open and he gasped, " _Lupin drank it?_ Is he mad?"

"But if he—you know…If he _was_ trying to—to poison Lupin—he wouldn't have done it front of Hailey," Hermione whispered.

"Yeah, maybe," said Hailey, as they reached the entrance hall. A group of Hufflepuffs was heading to the Great Hall, when suddenly they heard Eva shout among the group, "Mikey! Did you buy me anything?"

Hailey could see her trying to move out of the group and Michael walked over to his cousin. She looked at Hermione, realizing that it was her chance. "Hey, Eva told me that you and Michael were having some sort of intense conversation a few days ago. What were you two talking about?"

Hermione looked at Hailey, "Oh," her cheeks turned red, "That. We just had some personal matters to discuss. I wouldn't worry too much about it." Ron gave an odd look to Hermione.

"Why are you obsessing over it?" Mandy whispered to Hailey.

"I'm not," Hailey responded before heading inside the Great Hall.

It was decorated with hundred and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant watersnakes.

Hailey took a set and got some food. She wasn't obsessing over the conversation, she was just curious on what it was about and why it was so personal that it had to be kept to Hermione and Michael.

Mandy sat next to Hailey, "Stop glowering."

"I'm not," Hailey responded, biting into a bread roll. It was so good, that whatever she was thinking about promptly left her mind.

The food was delicious that even Mandy had second helpings. Hailey glanced at the staff table to see that Professor Lupin looked cheerful and healthy. He was talking to Professor Flitwick and she looked at Professor Snape, who kept glancing at Professor Lupin often.

The feast was finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts, who popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding. Michael nudged Hailey and motioned to the Gryffindor table, where Nearly Headless Nick was doing a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

Hailey thought it was a pleasant evening, not even Malfoy shouting, "The dementors send their love, Potter!" and Mandy replying, "Get something new, Malfoy!" could ruin the evening.

They got inside Ravenclaw Tower and Hailey was looking through her trunk when Head Girl, Rebecca, came in the dorm room. "Girls, meet me down in the common room. It's urgent."

Mandy looked up from the book she was reading. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," Rebecca said, before leaving the dorm room.

Hailey looked at Mandy, who got up from the bed and went to bang on the door leading to the lavatory. "Su Li, we have to go the common room!"

"Why?" Su Li called out.

"We don't know! We've been told that it's urgent!" Mandy called out and Hailey closed her trunk. She put her combat boots back on and grabbed her messenger bag. She wasn't sure why she grabbed it, but she felt better when she had it.

The door to the lavatory opened and Su Li emerged from it.

"We should go," Hailey said and they walked down the stairs, nearly running into emerging girls.

"What's going on?" A first year girl asked.

"I don't know," a fourth year said.

When they got to the common room, Michael came up to Mandy and Hailey. "Do you two know what's going on?"

"No," Hailey said. "We were just told to meet up in the common room." There was a large crowd of Ravenclaws meeting up.

Rebecca and the Head Boy led the crowd out of the common room and started going down the spiraling staircase.

"No running off on your own!" Rebecca shouted, "I will remove points from Ravenclaw!"

Hailey was beginning to grow worried. Something serious must have happen if the Head Boy and Girl were taking them somewhere and telling them not to run off.

"What do you think happened?" Mandy asked.

Michael shrugged, "Maybe it's some sort of Halloween prank."

"Maybe Peeves has done something," Mandy whispered.

They were led down to the entrance hall and to the Great Hall.

"Maybe there's some sort of other live entertainment," Hailey said. The doors opened and they saw that the Gryffindors were already there. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs joined the crowd.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I looked up Xylomancy and a website I was reading said that Dendromancy and Spodomancy/Tephramancy are related to Xylomancy. Yes, I even looked into Geomancy since it said that Spodomancy is a branch of Geomancy.

I think that since Professor Trelawney teaches Divination, she probably also teaches Xylomancy as well.


	9. Grim Defeat

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore said. Professors Flitwick and McGonagall closed the doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts."

Professor Dumbledore looked like he was going leave the hall, said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…" He casually waved his wand and the tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore, closing the door behind him.

Hailey, Mandy, and Michael grabbed some sleeping bags before heading off to find Hermione and Ron.

They heard snippets of what happened, something about Sirius Black and a portrait.

They managed to find Hermione and Ron.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Percy shouted. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

"C'mon," Ron said to the three Ravenclaws and Hermione. Ron and Hermione seized two sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner.

Ron and Hermione told them what happened.

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered anxiously.

"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," said Ron.

"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," said Hermione as they got into their sleeping bags. "The one night we weren't in the towers…"

"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run," said Ron, "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."

Hermione shuddered.

"How did he get in?" Terry Boot asked.

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate," said Susanna Fawcett, a Ravenclaw. "Just appear out of thin air, you know."

"Disguised himself, probably," said a fifth year Hufflepuff.

"He could've flown in," suggested Dean Thomas.

"Honestly, am I the _only_ person who's ever bothered to read _Hogwarts, A History_?" said Hermione crossly to the other four.

"Probably," said Ron, "Why?"

"Because the castle's protected by more than _walls_ , you know," said Hermione. "There are all sort of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages; they'll have them covered…"

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars.

"Why did Sirius go to Gryffindor?" Mandy whispered.

"He's mad, remember?" Michael whispered. "I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks that Hailey's in Gryffindor."

There was still some whispering filling the hall, Hailey felt as though she were sleeping outdoors in a light wind. She couldn't help but wonder why Sirius had tried to get inside Gryffindor tower. What would Sirius do? Hide in the shadows until she went into the common room for something and try to kill her then?

Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the hall to check that everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, Professor Dumbledore came in. Hailey watched him look around for Percy, who had been prowling around, telling people off for talking.

Hailey pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer. "Any sign of him, Professor?" asked Percy in a whisper.

"No," Dumbledore answered, "All well here?"

Percy replied, "Everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point moving them all now." Dumbledore explained, "I've found a temporary guarding for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back tomorrow."

Percy asked, "And the Fat Lady, sir?"

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor," Dumbledore said. "Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr Filch restore her."

Hailey heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps.

"Headmaster?" It was Snape. Hailey kept still, listening. "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched…" Snape responded.

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger," said Dumbledore.

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Snape.

"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next," replied Dumbledore.

Hailey opened up her eyes slightly and squinted up to where they were standing. Dumbledore's back was to her, but she could see Percy's face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profiled, which seemed angry.

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, before—ah the start of term?" said Snape, who barely opened his lips, as if he was trying to block Percy out of the conversation.

"I do, Severus," said Dumbledore, and it sounded like there was a hint of a warning in his voice.

Snape continued, "It seems—almost impossible—that black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed—"

"I do not believe a single person inside would have helped Black enter it," said Dumbledore. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" said Percy.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."

Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, watching the headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face; then he too left.

Hailey glanced sideways at Mandy and Michael, both asleep. Mandy was drooling in her sleep and Michael was looking so, so handsome. She glanced at Ron and Hermione, both awake.

"What was that all about?" Ron mouthed to Hailey.

All Hailey could do was shrug in response.

* * *

For the next few days, the school was talking of nothing but Sirius Black. There were theories of how he entered the castle, which became wilder and wilder. Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, in History of Magic, telling anyone who'd listen, that Black could turn into a flowering shrub. Eva had said that Sirius Black had swum through the Great Lake and entered through the doors, using stealthy skills to somehow get through the front doors. Michael told them that Eva was a fan of the James Bond movies.

Ron said that the Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and replaced by Sir Cadogan and his fat grey pony. Apparently Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels and the rest was thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords which was changed twice a day.

Hailey didn't have time to think much about the problems that the Gryffindors faced because she was positive that the teachers, found reasons to walk with Hailey down the corridors. Snape turned around the corners, every time they walked the corridor, although he looked at Hailey with hatred, when he did that. On top of the teachers, Percy walked with her, although Hailey suspected that Mrs Weasley told Percy to keep an eye on her.

To cap it all, Professor Flitwick summoned Hailey into his office, looking at her gravely, and Hailey was slightly worried if one of the Dursleys died. Professor Flitwick took a tin out of his desk drawer and opened it. He took out a cupcake with blue frosting and yellow sprinkles that Hailey suspected was supposed to symbolize the bronze on the Ravenclaw colours.

Hailey perked up; glad to see these dancing cupcakes that Robert Hilliard told them about, two years ago. Professor Flitwick pointed his wand at the cupcake and it tapped danced across the desk to Hailey.

Hailey smiled and grabbed it, "Thank you."

"Now, there's no point hiding it from you any longer, Potter," Professor Flitwick started, in a very serious voice. "I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius Black—"

"Is after me," finished Hailey, pulling the wrapper down on the cupcake. "I overheard Ron's dad telling Mrs Weasley. Mr Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic."

Professor Flitwick seemed slightly surprised, but covered it. "I see. Well, in that case, Potter, you'll understand why I don't think it's a good idea for you to be practicing Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only your team members, it's very exposed—"

"Roger wants to train the new members," Hailey said, slightly angry. "And we've got our first match on Saturday!"

Professor Flitwick considered Hailey intently and Hailey hoped that he was considering Ravenclaw winning the House Cup. "Well…I'd like to see Ravenclaw win the Cup at last…but all the same, Potter…I'd be happier if a teacher were present. I'll ask Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions."

Hailey smiled her lips blue from the cupcake frosting.

* * *

Roger had made the Ravenclaw Quidditch team gather around, because he told them that he had some unfortunate news. "Flint told me that we're going against Hufflepuff first. He said that their Seeker's arm is still injured."

"He's faking it," Hailey said. "There's nothing wrong with his arm."

"I think everyone knows that," Roger said. "They just can't prove it."

"That and he will have his dad try and fire the professors because they didn't believe him," Mandy said bitterly.

Roger looked at the blonde girl in slight surprise. He was probably wondering how long Mandy had been standing there. Roger continued, "I know that this is highly unexpected, especially since they have a new Seeker, Cedric Diggory—" Cho started giggling and Roger looked at Cho. "What?"

"He's that tall, good-looking one, right?" Cho asked.

"He's the one," Mandy said and the two started giggling again.

Hailey felt oddly confused, considering that she didn't know who Cedric Diggory was, although the last name sounded familiar to her. She just couldn't place where she heard it, though.

* * *

The weather worsened steadily as the first Quidditch match drew nearer. Undaunted, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams were training harder than ever, however Ravenclaw was overseen by Madam Hooch instead. Roger Davies and Oliver Wood resumed their rivalry to get to the Quidditch pitch first.

The day before their first match, the winds reached howling point and the rain fell harder than ever. It was so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns were lit.

Michael had muttered something that the weather would've been perfect for Halloween, as she glared at the Slytherin team who was looking very smug.

"Ah, if only my arm was feeling a bit better!" Malfoy sighed as the gale outside pounded the windows.

"If only your brain worked a bit better! Oh, wait, you don't have one!" Mandy snarled at Malfoy and stormed off before Malfoy can respond to that. Hailey followed after her blonde friend. Mandy started punching at the air. "He's asking for it! He's bloody asking for me to punch him in his smug little face! He's bloody asking for it!"

"Well, if you punch him, he'll have his dad fire your dad," Hailey said.

Mandy seemed to deflate, "I know. That doesn't mean that I won't think about punching him in stupid smug face."

In Mandy's anger, they somehow got turned around in the castle corridors. It took about ten minutes for them to get to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

They skidded to a halt outside the classroom door and Hailey pulled the door open. Hailey dashed inside and said, "Sorry we're late—" Mandy ran into Hailey, nearly sending the auburn girl sprawling to the floor, causing the Slytherins to snicker.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter and Brocklehurst, so I think we'll make it ten from Ravenclaw, each. Sit down."

Mandy hurried to a seat next to Michael, but Hailey didn't move.

Hailey asked, "We're Professor Lupin?"

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," said Snape with a twisted smile. "I believe I told you to sit down?"

"Nothing life-threatening," Snape said, looking as though he wished it were. "Five more points from Ravenclaw, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty."

Hailey walked to a desk and sat down next to Stephen Cornfoot, a little disgruntled at the fact that Mandy had to sit next to Michael. Although she wasn't sure why she was disgruntled over the fact, because Mandy could sit next to whoever she wanted.

Snape looked around at the class. "As I was saying before Potter and Brocklehurst interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far—"

"Please, sir, we've done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows," said Mandy quickly, "and we're just about to start—"

"Be quiet," said Snape coldly. "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

Hailey thought that maybe Professor Snape had thrown out the record of what they covered out of spite and jealousy.

"He's the most competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that we've ever had," Anthony Goldstein said.

"You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you—I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows. Today we shall discuss—" he flicked through the textbook to the very back chapter. "—werewolves."

Hailey was slightly confused and said to herself, "But we're due to start hinkypunks—"

"Miss Potter," said Snape in a voice of deadly calm. Hailey didn't realize she said it so loudly. "I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394." There were snickers from the Slytherin side as Hailey got in trouble. He glanced around the class again. " _All_ of you! Now!"

Hailey watched as Stephen grabbed his book and flipped it open. At least Snape didn't remove points from Ravenclaw for Hailey speaking out of turn. Hailey turned to the chapter. She read the chapter only once, which was two years ago.

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" said Snape. Mandy's hand went in the air. Snape sneered, "Anyone but Brocklehurst."

"You asked if anyone knew and she knows," Terry Boot said.

"Someone whose father doesn't work for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Snape said.

Mandy's hand went down, much to the laughter of Malfoy, who promptly smothered it.

The Ravenclaws sat in stunned silence at that.

"Anyone?" Snape said and his twisted smile was back. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't taught you the basic distinction between—"

"We told you," Anthony said, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet."

" _Silence_!" snarled Snape. "Well, well, well. I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point informing Professor Dumbleedore how very behind you all are…"

Mandy's hand went in the air, but it was shaking. Hailey couldn't tell if it was from anger or if she was on the verge of crying out of frustration.

"This is the second time where I'm saying 'anyone but Brocklehurst'," Snape said coolly, "Five more points from Ravenclaw this time for being a know-it-all."

Mandy's hand went down and it sounded like the Slytherins started laughing, but were trying to cover it up. Hailey glared at Snape now and grabbed onto the edge of the desk to refrain from punching Snape in the face. Forget Malfoy, Snape was just asking to get punched in the face.

For the rest of the lesson, no one made a sound. They sat and made note on werewolves from the textbook, while Snape prowled up and down the rows of desks, examining the work they had been doing with Professor Lupin.

Snape had stopped at Mandy's desk and examined the parchment. "Very poorly explained…That is incorrect, the kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia…I expect the daughter of a man who works for the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts to know that. Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn't have given it three."

Hailey refrained from chucking a bottle of ink at Snape's head at that.

The bell finally rang at last and before Hailey can make a run for it, Professor Snape said, "You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand."

Hailey, Mandy, and Michael left the room as quickly as possible, trying to get out of earshot.

"Snape's never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, even if he did want the job," Hailey said. "Why's he got it in for Lupin? D'you think this is all because of Neville's boggart?"

'I don't know," said Mandy. "But I really hope Professor Lupin gets better soon…"

"I want to punch Snape in the throat," Michael said.

Hailey couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Now, now, sweetie, you know that we don't solve our problems with violence."

Eva who happened to be walking by, with a strawberry blonde, both stopped, and Eva looked at them oddly at that.

"Come on," the strawberry blonde said, grabbing Eva's arm and leading her away. Eva kept looking back at them oddly.

At lunch, the three Ravenclaws told Hermione and Ron what happened in class.

"Why couldn't Black have hidden in Snape's office, eh? He could have finished him off for us!" Ron said in a rage.

"He's a prat but he doesn't deserve _that_ ," Mandy said.

* * *

The next day, Hailey was awoken. She glanced at the window to see that it was still dark out. She rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, but she could hear the rumble of thunder, the rain hiding the castle walls, and the distant creaking of the trees to the Forbidden Forest. In a few hours, she was going to have to go out in the gale of the wind and play Quidditch in that type of weather. She tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't. She got up, put on her robes, and got dressed. She picked up her Nimbus Two Thousand, and walked quietly out of the dormitory.

When she got to the common room, the storm was even louder. Hailey wished that the storm would be called off, but she knew that it wouldn't. Quidditch matches weren't called off for silly things like thunderstorms. Hailey checked the time on her watch, to see that it was four in the morning.

Yesterday, before dinner, Cho had pointed out Cedric Diggory to Hailey, who was a fifth year and a lot bigger than Hailey expected. Seekers were usually light and speedy, but Diggory's weight would be an advantage, because he was less likely to be blown off course by a gust of wind.

She could always send in Cho, but the fourth year girl was likely to be blown off course, too. But that would make Hailey look like she just doesn't want to play in the storm, something that the Slytherins didn't want to do. She wasn't Malfoy and she certainly wasn't going to wimp out because of the storm. She was also sure that Malfoy would bully her even more if Cho took over Hailey's spot.

Hailey spent maybe ten minutes looking at the bookshelves that the common room had to see if there was anything Quidditch related. Instead of a book about Quidditch, she found a thick book titled _Triwizard Tragedies_. It had a muted colourful cover when she looked at it. She wasn't sure what a 'Triwizard' even was and what tragedies occurred. She went to sit at a table to read it. She opened to the first page to the preface.

 _The Triwizard Tournament was first created in 1294. The Tournament had taken place over the course of seven centuries. The tournament was discontinued in 1792 due to the high death toll of the champions._

Hailey gaped at the book from seeing the first three sentences. That was one way to open a book, that's for sure. She continued reading the book and only looked up when someone entered the common room. She turned to look and saw that it was Michael. She couldn't help but smile. "Where are you going?"

Michael blinked and looked at Hailey. "Hermione wanted me to meet up with her in the library."

Hailey frowned at that, wondering why the Gryffindor needed him. Maybe it was to work on Ancient Runes or something. She had to tell herself that Michael was his own person; he can meet up with whoever he wanted. "All right…"

"How long have you been sitting there?" Michael asked confused.

Hailey looked at her watch, "About two hours. I should probably go wait in the Great Hall." She added, "You probably shouldn't keep Hermione waiting." Was it just her, or did she sound bitter about it? Michael looked like he was going to say something, but decided not to.

The both of them left the common room together.

"What was that you were reading?" Michael asked.

"Something about Triwizard Tragedies," Hailey responded. "It's like this tournament that tests you on magical ability, intelligence, and courage. They discontinued it like two hundred years ago because people kept dying." She smiled, "There was this one incident where a cockatrice that the champions were supposed to capture went on a rampage and attacked three of the judges. The tournament was cancelled after that."

Michael snickered, and gave Hailey a one-armed hug before they went separate ways.

Hailey went inside the Great Hall and sat at the Ravenclaw table. She got a large bowl of porridge to eat. She started on some toast when the rest of the team showed up. The rain still hadn't let up.

"I think this will be a tough off," Roger said.

"Don't worry. We don't mind some rain," Grant Page, the fifth year Keeper said. Hailey wasn't so sure since Nicolas Chambers and John Bradley were looking pale.

It was considerably more than 'some rain'. Thee whole school turned out to watch the match as usual. Umbrellas ripped whipped out of some students' hands because of the ferocious winds. Before Hailey entered the locker room, she saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, laughing and pointing at her from under an enormous umbrella on their way to the stadium.

 _How hilarious that I have to play Quidditch in the rain. At least I'm not a wimp like Malfoy,_ Hailey thought, and went inside the locker room where they changed in their blue robes. They waited for Roger do to his usual pre-match pep talk, but it seemed like he decided not to. He beckoned them to follow him out onto the pitch.

The wind was so strong that Nicolas Chambers ended up staggering right into Hailey. If the crowd was cheering, they didn't hear it because of the thunder.

The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field wearing carnary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; Diggory smiled at Roger, who smiled in return. Hailey saw Madam Hooch mouth the words, "Mount your brooms." Hailey pulled her right foot out of the mud and swung it over her Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded oddly distant and they were off.

Hailey rose fast, but her Nimbus was swerving slightly with the wing. She held it as steady as she could and turned, squinting into the rain. Within five minutes, Hailey was soaked to the bone and freezing, hardly able to see her teammates, lets along the tiny Snitch. She flew backward and forward across the field past blurred blue and yellow shapes, with no idea what was happening in the rest of the game. She couldn't even hear the commentary because of the wind. Hailey almost got upseated by a Bludger because of the rain.

She lost track of time. It was getting harder and harder to hold her broom straight. The sky was getting darker, as if night decided to come early. Twice Hailey almost hit another played, unsure if they were an opponent or teammate because everyone the rain so thick, she could hardly tell them apart.

With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle; Hailey could see the outline of Roger through the thick rain gesturing her to the ground. The whole team splashed down into the mud.

"What's wrong?" Hailey asked confused.

"I called for a time-out," Roger said. "Come on, under here."

They huddled under the edge of the field under a large umbrella.

Hailey asked, "What's the score?"

"We're fifty points up," said Roger, "unless we get the Snitch, we'll be playing into the night."

"So, I'll have to find the Snitch quickly then?" Hailey responded.

"Yeah," Roger said. With that, the game resumed.

Mandy was trying to watch through a pair of binoculars. "I wonder what that was all about."

"Don't know," Michael said shrugging.

Eva appeared at Michael's elbow, looking a little pale. Then again, she was always a little pale looking. "I don't like this game. It's too…dangerous."

"I think that's what makes it exciting," Michael said.

Eva asked, "Aren't you worried that your girlfriend will get hurt?"

"Yeah," Michael responded and then he looked at Eva, " _What?_ "

Mandy busted out laughing.

Eva looked at the game, "Your girlfriend? Aren't you worried she's going to get hurt?"

"Eva…for the past two years, something always happened to Hailey when she played the first Quidditch match. Trust me, we're all worried about her," Mandy said, before Michael can even say something. There was a flash of lightning and it looked liked Hailey got distracted by something, causing the broom to fall a few feet.

The cold came and Mandy looked around towards the ground, "Dementors!"

" _What?_ " Eva and Michael shouted at the same time.

Mandy repeated, "Dementors!" She pointed and the two turned to look.

There was about a hundred of them were standing on the pitch, below the game. Their faces were pointed up at the game above.

There were gasps and shouts.

Mandy looked up to see that Hailey was now plummeting to the ground and covered her mouth in horror. Eva had her eyes closed, and hands pressed together. She was muttering something quickly. Michael had pressed his hands to his eyes, not wanting to see the death of his friends.

Dumbledore ran onto the field and waved his wand at Hailey. Hailey started to slow down and then she hit the ground. Dumbledore turned around and a silvery light hit the dementors, causing them to turn and return to the castle. Dumbledore said something, but Mandy couldn't hear what was said and Dumbledore conjured a stretcher. Dumbledore levitated Hailey's body onto the stretcher; however she was still floating above it.

Mandy couldn't move, she was shaking, but it wasn't from the rain. She was sure that she was crying.

* * *

"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I thought she was dead for sure."

Hailey could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever. She didn't have a clue where she was, or how she'd go there, or what she'd been doing before she got there. All she knew was that every inch of her was aching as thought it had been beaten.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life."

Scariest…the scariest thing…hooded black figures…cold...screaming…

Hailey's eyes snapped open. She was lying in the hospital wing. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team, spattered with mug from head to foot, was gathered around her bed. Ron, Hermione, Mandy, Michael, Fred and George were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool.

"Hailey!" said Fred, looking extremely white. "How're you feeling?"

It was as thought Hailey's memory was on fast forward. The lightning—the Grim sitting in the empty top row of the stands—the Snitch—and the dementors… "What happned?" she asked, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.

"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been—what—fifty feet?"

"We thought you'd died," said Ducan Inglebee.

Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Hailey looked at her to see that her eyes were extremely bloodshot.

"But the match," said Hailey. "What happened? Are we doing a rematch?" There was no answer and Hailey got a terrible sinking feeling. "We…lost? Didn't we?"

"Diggory got the Snitch," said Jason Samuels, "Just after you fell. He didn't know what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. He wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square."

Roger, looking grim, even nodded.

Hailey put her face to her knees, grabbing at her hair. Fred grabbed Hailey's shoulder and shook it roughly. He said, "C'mon, Hailey, you've never missed the Snitch before."

"There had to be one time you didn't get it," said George.

Grant Page said, "We lost by a hundred points, right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Gryffindor, and we beat Gryffindor and Slytherin…"

"Hufflepuff has to lose by two hundred points," said Roger Davies.

Cho Chang said, "But if they beat Gryffindor…" She glanced at the four Gryffindors.

"No way, we're too good to lose to Hufflepuff. But if Slytherin loses against Slytherin…" George said.

Hailey sat there, not saying a word. They had lost…for the first time ever, she had lost a Quidditch match. She looked at Mandy and Michael. Michael was looking paler than usual and Mandy's eyes were bloodshot too.

After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell them to leave Hailey in peace.

"We'll come and see you later," Fred said to Hailey. "Don't beat yourself up, Hailey; you're still the best Seeker that Ravenclaw's ever had."

The Ravenclaw team, Fred, and George trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapproving.

Hermione and Ron explained what had happened after Hailey fell off the broom. Ron had trailed off, but Hailey hardly noticed. She was thinking about what the dementors had done to her…about the screaming voice.

 _"Not Hailey, not Hailey, please not Hailey!"_

 _"Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now…"_

 _"Not Hailey, please no, take me, kill me instead—"_

 _"Not Hailey! Please…have mercy…have mercy…"_

Someone shook Hailey's shoulder, gently, and she noticed that it was Michael. He looked worried, "Are you okay?"

Hailey blinked and looked around. "Did someone get my Nimbus?"

The four looked at each other.

Mandy started, "Er—"

"What?" asked Hailey, looking at the four of them.

"Well…" Mandy started.

"When you fell off, it got blown away," finished Hermione hesitantly.

Hailey prompted, "And?"

Hermione started, "And it hit—it hit—"

"It hit the Whomping Willow," Michael finished.

Hailey's heart sped up. The Whomping Willow was a very violent tree that stood alone in the middle of the grounds. She dreaded the answer, "And?"

"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," said Ron. "It—it doesn't like being hit."

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," said Hermione in a very small voice.

Mandy grabbed a bag at Hermione's feet, turned it upside on the bed, spilling out bits of splintered wood and twig. It was the only remains of Hailey's broomstick.

* * *

A/N: Okay, Michael saying that Sirius is mad and probably thought that Hailey was in Gryffindor is a reference to the books. Why Sirius went to Gryffindor first, will be explained in a later chapter.

I purposely left out the scene where Peeves was blowing into Harry's ear, because I thought that it would be disturbing if Peeves did that to Hailey, when she was sleeping in the girls' dorm and I'm pretty sure that the girls' dorm is enchanted to keep out male spirits/poltergeists. So, if Peeves were to blow into Hailey's ear, it has to be either in the hospital wing or if Hailey ever fell asleep in the common room for some reason.


	10. The Marauder's Map

Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Hailey in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. She didn't argue or complain, but she wouldn't let Madam Pomfrey throw away the shattered remnants of the Nimbus Two Thousand. Hailey knew that she being stupid, she knew that the Nimbus was beyond repair, but Hailey couldn't help it, she felt as though she'd lost one of her best friends.

She had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering her up. Hagrid sent her a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, and Ginny Weasley came in wishing her well. The Ravenclaw team visited again, Roger Davies was saying that he didn't blame her for losing the match, and that he was fine with losing.

Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael only left Hailey's bedside at night. Nothing anyone said or did could make Hailey feel better, because they knew only half of what was troubling her.

She didn't tell anyone about the Grim, not even her friends. She knew that Ron would panic, Hermione would scoff, Michael would say something about how it was probably a mirage from the lightning, and Mandy would probably do anything in her power to use Divination, Xylomancy, or Ovomancy to see if Hailey was in danger or going to die. The fact remained, that she had been in a near-fatal accident after seeing the Grim, because she fell fifty feet from her broomstick. She wasn't sure if the Grim was going to haunt her until she died. _Am I going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for the beast?_ Hailey wondered.

Then there was the problem with the dementors. Hailey felt sick and humiliated every time she thought of the creepy bastards. Everyone said that the dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents.

At least Hailey knew who that screaming voice belonged to, now. She had heard the words, over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while she lay awake, staring at the strips of moonlight on the ceiling. When the dementors approached her, she heard the last moments of her mother's life, her attempts to protect her, Hailey, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's laughter before he murder her mother. Hailey dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake.

She felt a dementor near, because the back of her neck was freezing. Instead of a dementor, it was because of a cold breeze on the back of her neck. She sat up and noticed Peeves the Poltergeist was floating next to her, blowing hard in her ear.

"What did you do that for?" demanded Hailey furiously.

Peeves puffed out his cheeks, blew hard, and zoomed backward out of the hospital wing, cackling.

* * *

It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where she was forced to think about other things, even if she had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Ravenclaw's defeat. He had finally taken off his banadages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Hailey falling off her broom.

Mandy had shouted, "Because someone almost dying is so funny, eh, Malfoy! If it happened to you, you would try to get Dumbledore fired!"

Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeons; Mandy finally cracked and reached for a large, slippery crocodile heart, but Michael grabbed it instead and threw it at Malfoy, which hit him so hard in the face that it nearly caused Malfoy to topple off his stool. It caused Snape to take fifty points from Ravenclaw.

"If Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm ditching," Mandy said as the headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch. "Check who's in there, Hailey."

Hailey looked in around the classroom door and instantly relaxed at the sight of Professor Lupin. "It's okay."

Professor Lupin certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats. Malfoy, thankfully, didn't seem in the mood to complain about Lupin since he had that crocodile heart lobbed at him.

"We had to do two rolls of parchment on werewolves, we don't know anything about werewolves," Hestia Carrow said.

"—two rolls of parchment!" Flora Carrow said.

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly.

Hestia said, "Yes, but he said were really behind—"

"— _two rolls of parchment_!" Flora cut in.

"Shut up, Flora," Hestia snapped.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay," Lupin said.

Hailey felt a little uncomfortable, considering she did the essay. Coming from the awkward look on Michael's face, she wasn't the only one.

"But…I already finished it," Mandy said sadly from behind Hailey.

They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who look as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless-looking.

"Lures travelers into bogs," said Professor Lupin as they took notes. "You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead—people follow the light—then—"

The hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass, much to Hailey's disgust and Mandy busted out laughing, before she covered it, realizing that she was the only one who laughed. Stephen snickered though.

When the bell rang, everyone packed up their things, and headed for the door. Hailey was among them, but—

"Wait a moment, Hailey," Lupin called. "I'd like a word."

Hailey doubled back and watched Professor Lupin cover the hinkypunk's box with a cloth.

"I heard about the match," said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase, "and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"

"No," said Hailey, almost bitterly. "The tree smashed it to bits."

Lupin sighed. "They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance."

With difficulty due to nerves and slight resentment, Hailey asked, "Did you hear about the dementors, too?"

Lupin looked at her quickly. "Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time…furious at his refusal to let them inside the ground… I suppose they were the reason you fell?"

"Yes," said Hailey. She hesitated before she can ask it, but it came out instead. " _Why?_ Why do they affect like that? Am I just—?"

"It has nothing to do with weakness," said Professor Lupin sharply, as though he had read Hailey's mind. "The dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have."

A ray of wintery sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's grey hairs and the lines on his young face. Hailey couldn't help but wonder what caused him to have grey hair that young.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself…soulless and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that happen to _you_ , Hailey, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Hailey needed to tell someone, and started, "When they get near me—" she stared at Lupin's desk, her throat tight. "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."

Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Hailey's shoulder, but thought better of it. There was a moment's silence, then—

"Why did they have to come to the match?" asked Hailey bitterly.

"They're getting hungry," said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap. "Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up. I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement…emotions running high…it was their idea of a feast."

"Azkaban is a terrible place," Hailey muttered. Lupin nodded grimly. "They go mad within weeks." She frowned, "But Sirius Black escaped from them. He got away…"

Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it. "Yes," he straightened up, "Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible. Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long…"

Hailey realized something, " _You_ made that dementor on the train back off."

"There are—certain defenses one can use," said Lupin. "But there was only one dementor on the train. The morethere are, the more difficult it becomes to resist."

"What defenses?" asked Hailey at once, eager to learn. "Can you teach me?"

"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting dementors, Hailey…quite the contrary…" Lupin started.

Hailey tried to sound determined, "But if the dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them—"

Lupin looked at Hailey's face, for a moment swearing that he saw James behind that determination, and then said, "Well…all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill."

* * *

With the promise of anti-dementor lessons from Lupin, the thought that she might never have to her mother's death again, and the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November, Hailey's mood took a definite upturn. Ravenclaw were not of the running after all, although they could not afford to lose another match. Roger was determined to work his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December, whenever Oliver Wood hadn't taken the spot. Hailey saw no hint of a dementor within the grounds. Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the entrances. To make matters worse, Hailey had to use an ancient Shooting Star, which was very slow and jerky, to use whenever they trained.

Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning to be covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Fliwick had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts. Michael and Mandy decided to go home. Mandy wanted to spend time with her dad because of the grindylow attack on October. Michael said that it was because he and Eva had to spend time with Michael's parents. Ron said it was because he couldn't stand two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library. Hailey wasn't fooled, she was grateful that Hermione and Ron wanted to keep her company.

To everyone's delight, and to Hailey's dismay, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.

"I can do some Christmas shopping there!" Mandy exclaimed.

Resigned to the fact that Hailey had to be the only third year staying behind again, Hailey borrowed a copy of _Which Broomstick_ from Oliver Wood, to find a new broomstick. She had decided to spend the day reading up on the different models of broomsticks.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Hailey told her four friends goodbye, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone. She headed back toward Ravenclaw Tower. On the third corridor, Hailey noticed that snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was oddly still and quiet.

"Psst—Hailey!"

Hailey turned around to see Fred and George were halfway along the corridor, peering out at her from behind a statute of a hump-backed, one-eyed witch. Hailey was slightly confused, "What are you doing? How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here…" He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Hailey followed the Weasley twins inside the room. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look at Hailey. "Early Christmas present for you, Hailey."

Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it.

Hailey stared at the parchment, suspecting that it was on their jokes. "What's that supposed to be?"

"This, Hailey, is the secret of our success," said George, patting the parchment fondly.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last night, your need's greater than ours."

"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't need it anymore."

"What do I need with a bit of old parchment?" asked Hailey.

"A bit of old parchment!" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Hailey had mortally offended him. "Explain, George."

George started, "Well…when we were in our first year, Hailey—young, carefree, and innocent—"

Hailey snorted, doubting that the two boys had even been innocent."

"—well, more innocent than we are now—we got into a spot of bother with Filch," George said.

Fred continued, "So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual—"

"—Detention—"

"—disembowelment—"

"—and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_ ," George said.

"Don't tell me—" started Hailey with a grin.

"Well, what would you've done?" asked Fred. "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed— _this_."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said Georg. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

Hailey asked, "And you know how to work it?"

"Oh yes," said Fred, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in the school."

"You're winding me up," said Hailey, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment.

"Oh, are we?" said George. He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, " _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_."

Ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:

 **Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
** **Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers  
** **Are proud to present  
** **THE MARADUER'S MAP**

It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Astounded, Hailey bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Hailey looked up and down the familiar corridors, she noticed something else. This map showed a set of passages she had never entered. And many of them seemed to lead—

"Right into Hogsmeade," said Fred, tracing one of them with his finger. "There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four," he pointed them out, "But we're sure we're the only ones who know about _these_. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in—completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one lead's right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George, patting the heading of the map. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," said Fred solemnly.

"Right," said George briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it—"

"—or anyone can read it," Fred said in a warning tone.

"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief Managed!' And it'll go blank," George said.

"So, you Hailey," said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourself."

"See you in Honeydukes," said George, winking.

The Weasley twins left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.

Hailey stood there, gazing at the miraculous map. She watched the tiny ink Mrs Norris turn left, pause, and seemed to sniff at the something on the floor. If Filch really didn't know…she wouldn't have to pass the dementors at all…

Hailey felt flooded with excitement, something Hailey had once heard Mr Weasley say came floating back. ' _Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain._ '

The map was on of those dangerous magical objects Mr Weasley had been warning against…Aids _for Magical Mischeif-Makers_ …but then, Hailey reasoned, she only wanted to use it to get into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as though she wanted to steal anything or attack anyone…and the Weasley twins had been using it for years without anything horrible happening.

Hailey traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with her finger. She rolled the map up, stuffed it inside her robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. She opened it a couple of inches to see that no one was outside. Very carefully, she edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. To her surprise, a new ink figure had appeared on the map, labeled _Hailey Potter_. This figure was standing exactly where Hailey was standing, about halfway down the third-floor corridor. Hailey watched carefully. Her little ink self appeared to be tapping the witch with a miniature wand. Hailey took out her real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened and Hailey looked back at the map. A tiny speech bubble had appeared next to her figure and there was a word inside that said, " _Dissendium_."

" _Dissendium_ ," Hailey whispered, tapping the stone witch again.

The statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Hailey glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the map away again, hoisted herself into the hole headfast, and pushed herself forward.

She slide a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide, then landed on cold damp earth. She stood up, looking around. It was pitch dark. She held up her wand, muttered, " _Lumos_!" and saw that she was in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. She raised the map, tapped it with the tip of her wand, and whispered, "Mischief managed!" The map went blank at once. Hailey folded it carefully, tucked it inside her robes, then, heart beating fast, excited and apprehensive, she set off.

The passage twisted and turned, like a giant rabbit burrow than anything else. Hailey hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor, holding her wand out in front of her.

It took ages, but Hailey kept the thought of Honeydukes to propel her forward. After what seemed like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Hailey sped up, her face hot, her feet very cold.

She came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above her. Careful not to make any noise, Hailey began to climb. She lost count of how many steps she took at fifty. She watched her feet…trying not to slip, when she hit her head on something hard.

It seemed to be a trapdoor. Hailey stood there, rubbing the top of her head, listening. She couldn't hear any sounds above her. Very slowly, she pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge.

She was in a cellar, which was full of wooden crates and boxes. She climbed out of the trapdoor and replaced it—it blended so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was there. Hailey crept slowly toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs. She could now definitely hear voices, not to mention the tinkle of a bell and the opening and shutting of a door.

She wondered what to do when a door opened much closer at hand; somebody was about to come downstairs.

"And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned us out—" said a woman.

A pair of feet was coming down the staircase. Hailey jumped behind an enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass. She heard someone shifting boxes against the opposite wall. Hailey realized that she might not get another chance—

As quickly and quietly as she can, Hailey dodged out from her hiding place and climbed the stairs; looking back, she saw an enormous backside and shiny bald head, buried in a box. Hailey reached the door at the top of the stairs, slipped through it, and found herself behind the counter of Honeydukes—she ducked, crept sideways, and then straightened up.

Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no one seemed to look twice at Hailey. She edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a laugh as she imagined the look on Dudley's face if he could see where Hailey was now.

There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-coloured toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavour Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbert balls that Ron had mentioned, along yet another wall were "Special Effects" sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-coloured bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringments, tiny black Pepper Imps ("breathe fire for your friends!"), Ice Mice ("hear your teeth chatter and squeak!"), peppermint creams shaped like toads ("hop realistically in the stomach!"), fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons.

Hailey squeezed herself through a crowd of sixth years, saying "excuse me" and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). Hermione, Mandy, Ron, and Michael were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavoured lollipops. Hailey tried to be quiet as she snuck up behind them.

"I don't think she's a vampire," Michael said, to Hermione.

"How about these?" asked Ron, showing them a jar of Cockroach Clusters.

"That's disgusting," Mandy said.

"I agree with Mandy," said Hailey.

Ron nearly dropped the jar, Michael spun around, almost crashing into Hailey. Mandy's eyes were comically wide.

" _Hailey_!" squealed Hermione. "What are you doing her? How—how did you—?"

"Wow!" said Ron, looking very impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"

Hailey snorted at that. "'Course I haven't." She dropped her voice to a whisper, so a group of sixth years didn't hear, and explained all about the Marauder's Map.

Ron looked outraged. "How come Fred and George never told _me_! I'm their brother!"

"But Hailey isn't going to keep it!" said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. "She's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Hailey?"

"No, I'm not!" said Hailey, defiantly.

"Are you mad?" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!" Hailey explained, not wanting to get the Weasley twins in trouble, especially after they gave it to her to use. That was like a betrayal.

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

"He can't be getting in through a passage," said Hailey quickly. "There are seven secret tunnels on the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three—one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came through—well—it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar, so unless he knew it was there…" Hailey trailed off, wondering if Sirius Black knew about the passage.

"Yeah, about that…" Michael started. He, Mandy, and Ron both pointed to a notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door.

 **BY ORDER OF  
** **THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

 _Customers are reminded that until further notice, dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before night._

 _Happy Christmas!_

"See?" said Ron quietly. "I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!"

"Yes, but—but—" Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. "Look, Hailey still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. She hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, she'll be in some much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet—what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?"

"I'd like to see him try to get through that," Mandy said, motioning to the mullioned window. There was thick, swirling snow outside.

"Hermione, its Christmas. Hailey deserves a break, doesn't she?" Michael asked.

Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried.

Hailey grinned and asked, "Are you going to report me?"

Hermione started, "Oh—of course not—but honestly, Hailey—"

"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Hailey?" said Ron, grabbing Hailey and leading her over to the barrel. "And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven—it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick." Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box.

"I still don't know why they made those," Michael said.

"Do you reckon Fred'd take a bit of Cockroach Cluster if I told him they were peanuts?" Ron asked.

"You can try, but I won't guarantee he won't seek revenge," Mandy said.

When Hailey's friends paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside.

Hailey couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the village. Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. It was just so beautiful and breathtaking to see.

Hailey shivered; unlike the other four, she didn't have her cloak. Michael ended up passing her his grey zip-up hoodie. As Hailey put it on, noticing that it was kind of baggy on her, but she liked the bagginess of it, because it was comfortable. They headed up the street; Ron and Hermione were shouting their scarves.

Hermione motioned to a building, "That's the post office—"

Ron gestured, "Zonko's is up there—"

"Wait till you see the Shrieking Shack," Mandy said.

"Tell you what," said Ron, his teeth chattering, "shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

Hailey was more than willing; the wind was fierce and her hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn.

It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky inside. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar.

"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red.

Hailey smirked, knowing that she was going to have to tease him over it.

"I'll help," Michael said.

Hailey frowned at that, as she, Mandy, and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a medium, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace.

Hailey glanced back at Madam Rosmerta. She was probably old enough to be Michael's mother or at least aunt. She rolled her eyes and then noticed something smelt odd. It smelt like it was coming from her jacket. She sniffed the shoulder and realized it was apple-cinnamon scented. It was quite Christmas-y and it smelt nice. She sniffed it again and noticed Mandy was giving her an odd look.

"Runny nose," Hailey lied.

Mandy gave her a disbelieving look. "Yeah…" she passed Hailey a napkin, which Hailey proceeded to wipe her nose off.

Ron and Michael came back five minutes later, carrying foaming tankards of butterbeer.

"Happy Christmas!" Ron said happily, raising his tankard.

Hailey took a drink. It was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted and it seemed to heat every bit of her from the inside.

A sudden breeze ruffled her hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again and Hailey looked over and almost choked on her spit.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak—Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

Mandy and Michael both placed hands on the top of Hailey's head and forced her off her stool and under the table.

Crouching out of sight, Hailey watched as Mandy and Michael moved to make sure Hailey was hidden, although she almost took Michael's knee to the face. The two Ravenclaws had to sit way to close together to Hailey's discomfort. She wasn't sure why the close proximity between them seemed to bother her.

" _Mobiliarbus_ ," Hermione whispered, and the Christmas tree rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view.

Hailey heard chairs moving back from a table and then hear the clacking of high heels.

A woman said, "A small gillywater—"

"Mine," said Professor McGonagall's voice.

The woman continued, "four pints of mulled mead—"

"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.

Rosmerta continued, "A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella—"

"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.

"Fancy," Mandy whispered.

"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister," Rosmerta finished.

"Than you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us…"

"Well, thank you very much, Minister."

Hailey heard the Rosmerta's heels clack away and then back again. Hailey's heart was pounding uncomfortably. She had forgotten that it was the last weekend of term for the teachers, too. She wasn't sure how long they were going to sit there. She needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if she wanted to return to school tonight…Mandy's leg twitched and Hailey almost took Mandy's knee to the eye.

"So, what's brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta asked.

"What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened at the school at Halloween?" Fudge said in a whisper.

"I did hear a rumour," admitted Madam Rosmerta.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall in an exasperated tone.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.

"You know that the dementors have searched the whole village twice?" said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my customers away…It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, m'dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge, sounding uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution…unfortunate, but there you are. I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore—he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I shouldn't think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"

Hailey had to admit that it was a good point.

"Hear, hear!" squeaked Professor Flitwick.

"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse…We all know what Black's capable of…"

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was last I'd have thought…I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too mead."

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" asked Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do," said Fudge.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?" Rosmerta prompted.

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," said Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here—ooh, they use to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Hailey jolted in surprise, hitting her head on the table and Mandy kicked her.

"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course—exceptionally bright, in fact—but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers—"

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have though Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Hailey. Hailey has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment her."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Worse even than that m'dear…" Fudge whispered in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest.

"An immensely complex spell," said Professor Flitwick, "involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find—unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself…and yet, Dumbledre remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?" Rosemerta asked.

"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after Fidelius Charm had been performed—"

"Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Hailey Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colours as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it—"

"Filhy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said so loudly that half the bar went quiet.

"Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.

"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Hailey from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got her outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across her forehead, an' her parents dead…an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily and James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the new o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? _I comforted the murderin' traitor_!" Hagrid roared.

"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Hailey ter me, Hagrid, I'm her godfather, I'll look after her—' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Hailey was ter go ter her aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Hailey there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.

I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him.

" _Buit what I'd given Hailey to him, eh?_ I bet he'd've pitched her off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' daughter! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to 'em anymore…"

A long silence followed Hagrid's story.

"But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him the next day!" Rosmerta said with some satisfaction.

"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew—another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew…that fat little boy who always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I—how I regret that now…" She sounded like she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses—Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later—told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' and then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens…"

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy…foolish boy…he was always hopeless at dueling…should have left it to the Ministry…"

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands—I'd've ripped him limb—from—limb," Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," said Fudge sharply. "Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I—I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muffles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him…a heap of bloodstained robes and a few—a few framents—" he stopped and there was the sound of five noses being blown.

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," said Fudge thickly. "Black was taken away by members of the Magical Law Enforcment Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."

Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh. "Is it true he's mad, Minister?"

"I wish I could say that he was," said Fudge slowly. "I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man—cruel…pointless. Yet I meet Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them…but I was shocked at how _normal_ Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored—asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the dementors seemed to be having on him—and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I daresay that is his—er—eventual plan," said Fudge evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing…but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again…"

There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dinning with the headmaster, we'd better head back up the castle," said Professor McGonagall.

There was the scrapping sound of chairs moving back and the sound of Rosmerta's heels clacked away. The sound of the door opening to the Three Broomsticks came again.

"Hailey?"

Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael's faces appeared under the table. They were staring at her, all at a loss for words, too.


	11. The Firebolt

Hailey couldn't recall how she had managed to get back into the Honeydukes cellar, through the tunnel, and into the castle once more. It seemed like the return trip seemed to take no time at all, and that she hardly noticed what she was doing, because her head was still pounding from the conversation she heard.

She didn't know why nobody told her. Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr Weasley, Cornelius Fudge…why didn't anyone tell her that her parents died because their best friend betrayed them?

Mandy and Michael watched Hailey nervously all through dinner, not daring to talk about what they'd overheard, because Percy was sitting close by. When they went upstairs to the crowded common room, Hailey had went up to the dorm and headed to her bedside cabinet. She pushed some books aside and found the photo album that Hagrid had given her two years ago, which was full of wizard pictures of her parents. She sat down on the bed, drew the hangings around her, and started flipping through the pages searching for something specific…

She stopped on a picture of her parents' wedding day. There her father, waving up at her, beaming, with untidy black hair. There was her mother, alight with happiness, arm in arm with Hailey's dad, and her red hair neat, that Hailey got, but she got the messiness was from her dad. And there…that must be him. Their best man…Hailey had never given him a thought before. His face wasn't sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter. Hailey wondered if he was already working for Voldemort when the picture was taken? Was he already planning the deaths of two people next to him? Did he realize he was facing twelve years in Azkaban, twelve years that would make him unrecognizable?

 _But the dementors don't affect him,_ Hailey thought, staring into the handsome, laughing face. _He doesn't have to hear my mum screaming if they get too close—_

Hailey slammed the album shut, reached over and stuffed in back into her cabinet, took off her robe and got into bed, making sure the hangings were hiding her from view.

The dormitory door opened.

"Hailey?" asked Mandy sound uncertain.

Hailey lay still, pretending to be asleep. She heard Mandy leave again, and Hailey rolled onto her back, her eyes still open.

A hatred such as she had never known before was coursing through Hailey like poison. She could see Black laughing at her through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture from album over her eyes. She watched, as though somebody was playing her a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand pieces. She could hear (though she had no idea what Black's voice might sound like) a low, excited mutter. "It has happened, My Lord…the Potters have made me their Secret-Keeper." And then came another voice, laughing shrilly, the same laugh that Hailey heard inside her head whenever the dementors drew near…

* * *

Hailey hadn't managed to fall asleep until daybreak. She woke up to find the dormitory empty. She got dressed, even putting on the grey hoodie that she had conveniently forgotten to return to Michael. Maybe he forgot that it was his or he 'conveniently' forgot it was his. She walked down to the common room.

"Hailey, you—you look terrible," Hermione said.

Hailey stopped in her steps and blinked at Hermione, confused. "How did you get in here?"

"We solved the riddle," Hermione said.

"Where is everyone?" Hailey asked.

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" said Ron, watching Hailey closely. "It's nearly lunchtime; Hermione was going to go up and wake you up in a minute."

Hailey slumped into a chair and saw that snow was still falling outside the window. Hailey couldn't believe that she missed seeing Michael, Mandy, and Eva off.

"You really don't look well, you know," Hermione said, looking at Hailey's face.

Hailey looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had bags under her eyes, her face was very pale, and she had very messy hair. She said, "I'm fine."

"Hailey, listen," said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron. "You must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid."

Hailey looked at them and asked, "Like what?"

"Like trying to go after Black," said Ron sharply.

Hailey couldn't believe that they rehearsed the speech and she decided not to say anything.

"You won't, will you, Hailey?" asked Hermione.

"Because Black's not worth dying for," said Ron.

Hailey grew agitated because they didn't seem to understand at all. However, she didn't tell them either. "D'you know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too near me?" The two Gryffindors shook their heads, looking apprehensive. "I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd hear your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her—"

"There's nothing you can do!" exclaimed Hermione, looking stricken. "The dementors will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and—and serve him right!"

"You heard what Fudge said. Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others."

"So what are you saying?" asked Ron, looking very tense. "You want to—to kill Black or something?"

"Don't be silly," said Hermione in a panicky voice. "Hailey doesn't want to kill anyone, do you, Hailey?"

Hailey didn't answer. She didn't know what she wanted to do. All she knew what that the idea of doing nothing, while Black was at liberty, was almost more than she could stand. She remembered something, "Malfoy knows. He said to me in Potions, 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself…I'd want revenge.'"

"You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?" demanded Ron furiously. "Listen…you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me—the Order of Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the biggest bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Hailey, and he's dangerous—"

"Malfoy's dad must have told him," said Hailey, ignoring Ron. "He was right in Voldemort's inner circle."

" _Say You-Know-Who, will you?_ " interjected Ron angrily.

"—so obviously, the Malfoys knew Black was working for Voldemort," Hailey continued.

"—and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip. Malfoy's just hoping you'll get yourself killed before he has to play you at Quidditch."

"Hailey, _please_ ," said Hermione, her eyes now shining with tears, " _please_ be sensible. Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don't put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants…Oh, Hailey, you'd be playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!"

"I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've spoken to them," said Hailey shortly.

There was a silence and Ron said, "Look. It's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's—let's go down and see Hagrid. We haven't visited for ages!"

"No!" said Hermione quickly. "Hailey isn't supposed to leave the castle, Ron—"

"Yeah, let's go," said Hailey, getting up, "and I can ask him how come he never mentioned Black when he told me all about my parents!"

Ron looked taken aback, "or we could have a game of chess, or Gobstones. Percy left a set—"

"No, let's visit Hagrid," said Hailey firmly. She went up to the dormitory, grabbed her cloak, and they made their way to the Gryffindor tower so the two Gryffindors can get their cloaks. After that, they set off down through the empty castle and out through the oak font doors.

They made their way slowly down the lawn, making a shallow trench in the glittering, powdery snow; the hems of their cloaks were getting soaked. Hailey noticed that The Forbidden Forest looked as if it had been enchanted, each tree smattered with silver, and Hagrid cabin looked like an iced cake.

Ron knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"He's not out, is he?" asked Hermione, who was shivering under her cloak.

Ron put his ear to the door. "There's a weird noise. Listen—is that Fang?"

The two girls put their ears to the door too. From inside the cabin came a series of low, throbbing moans. Hailey wasn't sure if she wanted to know what was going in there.

"Think we'd better go and get someone?" asked Ron nervously.

"Hagrid!" called Hailey, knocking on the door more loudly. "Hagrid, are you in there?"

There were heavy footsteps, and then the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest. "Yeh've heard?" he bellowed, and he flung himself onto Hailey's neck.

Since Hagrid was at least twice the size of a normal man, Hailey almost collapsed backwards into the snow, but Ron and Hermione seized Hagrid under the arms and heaved him back into the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed with tears that dripped down into his tangled beard.

"Hagrid, what _is_ it?" asked Hermione, aghast.

Hailey spotted an official-looking letter lying open on the table. She asked, "What's this, Hagrid?"

Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter toward Hailey, who picked it up and read aloud:

 _Dear Mr Hagrid,_

 _Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident._

"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" said Ron, clapping Hagrid on the shoulder. Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one of his gigantic hands, inviting Hailey to read on.

 _However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated._

 _Yours in fellowship…_

There was a list of the school governors.

"Oh," said Ron. "But you said Buckbeak isn't a bad hippogriff, Hagrid. I bet he'll get off—"

"Yeh don't know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" choked Hagrid, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!"

There was a loud chomping sound, causing the three teens to whip around. Buckbeak the hippogriff was lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor. Hailey turned to look at Hagrid.

"I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow!" choked Hagrid. "All on his own! At Christmas!"

The three teens looked at one another. They hadn't seen eye to eye with Hagrid about what he called "interesting creatures" and other people called "terrifying monsters." On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. In fact, by Hagrid's usual standards, he was positively cute.

"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid," said Hermione, sitting down and lying a hand on Hagrid's massive foreharm. "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."

"Won't make no diff'rence!" sobbed Hagrid. "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An' if I lost the case, Buckbeak—" Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, his face in his arms.

"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" asked Hailey.

"He's done more'n enough fer me already," groaned Hagrid. "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around—"

The two Gryffindors looked quickly at Hailey, as though expecting her to start berating Hagrid for not telling her the truth about Black. Hailey just couldn't bring herself to do it, not now that she saw Hagrid so miserable and scared. "Listen, Hagrid," she started, "you can't give up. Hermione's right, you just need a good defense. You can call us as witnesses—"

"I'm sure I've read about a case of hippogriff-baiting," said Hermione thoughtfully, "where the hippogriff got off. I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."

Hagrid howled more loudly. Hailey and Hermione both turned to look at Ron for help.

"Er—shall I make a cup of tea?" asked Ron. Hailey stared at him, blankly. "It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset." He shrugged.

At least, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming mug of tea in front of Hagrid, he blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a tabletop and said, "Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together…" Fang the boarhoad came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee. "I've not bin meself lately. Worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin me classes—"

"We do like them!" lied Hermione at once.

"Yeah, they're great!" said Ron, crossing his fingers under the table. "Er—how are the flobberworms?"

"Dead," said Hagrid gloomily. "Too much lettuce."

"Oh no!" said Ron, his lips twitching.

"An' them dementors make feel ruddy terrible an' all," said Hagrid with a sudden shudder. "Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. 'S like bein' back in Azkaban—" he fell silent, gulping his tea. The three teens watched him breathlessly. They had never heard Hagrid talk about his brief spell in Azkaban before.

After a few minutes, Hermione asked timidly, "Is it awful there, Hagrid?"

"Yeh've no idea," said Hagrid quietly. "Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind…the day I got expelled from Hogwarts…day me died dad…day I had ter let Norbert go." His eyes filled with tears. Norbert was the baby dragon Hagrid had once won in a game of cards. "Yeah can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd just die in me sleep…When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'ry thin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."

"But you were innocent!" exclaimed Hermione.

Hagrid snorted. "Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not." He went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. Then he said quietly, "Thought 'o jus' letting Buckbeak go…tryin' ter make him fly away…but how d'yeh explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? An—an' I'm scared o' breakin' the law…" He looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again. "I don' ever want ter go back ter Azkaban."

The trip to Hagrid's, though far from fun, had nevertheless had the effect Ron and Hermione had hoped. Though Hailey had by no means forgotten about Black, she couldn't brood constantly on revenge if she wanted to help Hagrid win this case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The three went to the library the next day and the two Gryffindors talked Hailey into going to the Gryffindor common room laden with books that might help prepare a defense for Buckbeak. The three of them sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning pages of dusty volumes about famous cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they ran across something relevant.

Ron said, "Here's something…there was a case in 1722…but the hippogriff was convicted—ugh, look what they did to it, that's disgusting—"

"This might help, look—a manticore savaged someone in 1296, and the let the manticore off—oh—no, that was only because everyone was too scared to go near it…" Hermione said.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streams of holly and mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside every suit of armour, and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. A powerful and delicious smell of cooking pervaded the corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had grown so strong that apparently Scabbers poked his nose out of the shelter of Ron's pocket to sniff hopefully at the air.

On Christmas Rve, Ron had talked Hailey into bringing her Christmas presents to the Gryffindor common room in the morning, so she didn't have to be alone in the Ravenclaw tower. So, she had grabbed her messenger bag, gathered her presents, and had made her way to the Gryffindor common room, she can open her small heap of parcels there. She dropped the heap on the nearest table when she had gotten to the Gryffindor common room.

Ron had brought his presents down too and started ripping the paper off of one. "Another jumper from Mum…maroon _again_ …see if you've got one."

Hailey did get one. Mrs Weasley had sent her a blue jumper with the Ravenclaw eagle knitted on the front; also she got a dozen home-baked mince pies, some Christmas cake, and a box of nut brittle. She moved Mrs Weasley's things aside, picked up a present from Mandy, which was mood colour changing nail polish. The nail polish was a white colour and had a chart of what the different colours was supposed to mean when it changed. The next present was from Michael, which was a white wristband that looked like it had black arrows on it, which she put on. The next present was some more beaded bracelets from Eva. After that she picked up the long, thin package that she had noticed earlier when she grabbed them.

"What's that?" asked Ron, looking over a freshly unwrapped pair of maroon socks in his hand.

"Dunno…" Hailey said, and ripped the parcel open. There was a magnificent, gleaming broomstick in her hand.

Ron dropped the socks and walked over to inspect it. "I don't believe it." He sounded hoarse.

It was the Firebolt, identical to the broom that Hailey had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley. It's handle glittered as she picked it up and she felt it vibrating. She let it go and it hung in midair, unsupported, at exactly the right height for her to mount it. She looked at the golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.

"Who sent it to you?" asked Ron in a hushed voice.

"Look and see if there's a card," said Hailey.

Ron grabbed the wrapping and tore through it. "Nothing! Blimey, who spend that much on you?"

"Well, I'm betting that it wasn't the Dursleys," Hailey responded.

"I bet it was Dumbledore," said Ron, now walking around the Firebolt. "He sent you the Invisibility Claok anonymously…"

"That was my dad's, though," said Hailey. "Dumbledoroe was just passing it on to me. He wouldn't spend hundreds of Galleons on me. He can't go giving students stuff like this—"

"That's why wouldn't say it was from him!" said Ron. "In case some git like Malfoy said it was favouritism. Hey, Hailey," Ron gave a great whoop of laughter, " _Malfoy_! Wait till he sees you on this! He'll be sick as a pig! This is an _international_ standard broom, this is!"

"I can't believe this," Hailey muttered, running a hand along the Firebolt, while Ron sat on a chair, laughing his head off at the thought of Malfoy. " _Who_ —?"

"I know," said Ron, pulling himself together, "I know who it could've been—Lupin!"

"What?" asked Hailey and started to laugh. " _Lupin_? Listen, if he had this much gold, he'd be able to buy himself some new robes."

"Yeah, but he likes you," said Ron. "And he away when his Nimbus got smashed and he might've heard about it and decided to visit Diagon Alley and this for you—"

"What d'you mean, he was away?" asked Hailey. "He was ill when I was playing that match."

"Well, he wasn't in the hospital wing," explained Ron. "I was there, cleaning out the bedpans because I got detention from Snape."

Hailey frown at Ron. "I can't see Lupin affording something like this."

"What're you two laughing about?" Hermione had came down, wearing her dressing gown and carrying Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy because he had a string of tinsel tied around his neck.

"Don't bring him down here!" said Ron, hurriedly grabbing Scabbers from the table and stowing him in his pajama pocket.

But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks on a chair and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebolt. "Oh, _Hailey_! Who sent you _that_?"

"No idea," said Hailey. "There wasn't a card or anything with it."

To Hailey's surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or intrigued by the news. On the contrary, her face fell, and she bit her lip.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Hermione slowly, "but it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, this is supposed to be quite a good broom, isn't it?"

Ron sighed exasperatedly. "It's the best broom there is, Hermione."

Hermione said, "So it must've been really expensive…"

"Probably cost more than all the Slytherin's brooms put together," said Ron happily.

"Well…who'd send Hailey something as expensive as that, and not even tell her they'd sent it?" said Hermione.

"Who cares?" said Ron impatiently. "Listen, Hailey, can I have a go on it? Can I?"

"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" said Hermione shrilly, before Hailey can answer Ron's question.

"What d'you think Hailey's going to do with it—sweep the floor?" said Ron.

Crookshanks sprang from the chair, right at Ron's chest, before Hermione could answer.

"Get—him—out—of—here!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks's claws ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the table, which caused him to hop up and down, howling with pain.

"You better take that cat out of here, Hermione," said Ron furiously, sitting on a chair, nursing his toe.

Hermione strode out of the room, Crookshanks's yellows eyes still fixed maliciously on Ron.

Hailey gathered her gifts, hearing Ron's stifled moans of pain and rage. Scabbers was huddled in Ron's hands. Hailey hadn't seen him for a while, and she noticed that Scabbers, once so fat, was now very skinny and with patches of fur missing. "He's not looking too good, is he?"

"It's stress!" said Ron. "He'd be fine if that big stupid furball left him alone!"

Hailey remembered what the woman at the Magical Menagerie had said about rates living only three years, couldn't feeling that unless Scabbers had powers he had never revealed, he was reaching the end of his life. And despite Ron's complaints that Scabbers was boring and useless, she was sure Ron would be very miserable if Scabbers died.

* * *

Christmas spirit was definitely thin in the Gryffindor common room that morning. Hermione had shut Crookshanks in her dormitory, but was furious with Ron for trying to kick him; Ron was still fuming about Crookshanks's fresh attempts to eat Scabbers, and Hailey had given up trying to make both Gryffindors talk to each other, devoted herself to examining the Firebolt, as she put onthe nail polish that Mandy sent her, along with the jumper that Mrs Weasley sent her. Hailey examining the Firebolt seemed to annoy Hermione, since she kept looking darkly at the broom as though, it too, had been criticizing her cat.

At lunchtime, they went down to the Great Hall, to find that the House tables had been moved against the walls again, and that a single long table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had had taken off his usual brown coat, and was wearing a very old and rather moldy-looking tailcoat. There were only three other students, two extremely nervous-looking first years and a sullen-faced Slytherin fifth year.

"Happy Chrstimas!" said Dumbledore as the three third years approached the table. "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the House tables…Sit down, sit down!"

The three sat down side by side at the end of the table.

"Crackers!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture.

Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once. "Dig in!" he advised the table, beaming around.

As Hailey was helping herself to roast potatoes, the doors of the Great Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding toward them as though on wheels. She had put on a green sequined dress in honour of the occasion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized dragonfly.

"Sibyll, this is a pleasant surprise!" said Dumbledore, standing up.

"I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster," said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest, most faraway voice, "and to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness…"

"Certainly, certainly," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, "Let me draw you up a chair—" He drew up a chair out of midair with his wand, which revolved for a few seconds before falling with a thud between Professors Snape and McGonagall. Professor Trelawney didn't sit down because she was looking around at the table and suddenly uttered a soft scream.

"I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Nothing more could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"

"We'll risk it, Sibyll," said Professor McGonagall impatiently. "Do sit down; the turkey's getting stone cold."

Professor Trelawney hesitated, and then lowered herself into the empty chair, eyes shut, and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit the table.

Professor McGonagall poked a large spoon into the nearest tureen. "Tripe, Sibyll?"

Professor Trelawney ignored her. Eyes open again, she looked around once more and said, "But where is dear Professor Lupin?"

"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again," said Dumbledore, indicating that everybody should start serving themselves. "Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day."

"But surely you already knew that, Sybill?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyebrows raised.

Professor Trelawney gave Professor McGonagall a very cold look. "Certainly I knew, Minerva," she said quietly. "But one does not parade the fact that one is All-Knowing. I frequently act as though I am not possessed on the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous."

"That explains a great deal," said Professor McGonagall tartly.

Professor Trelawney's voice suddenly became a good deal less misty. "If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems away, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him—"

"Imagine that," said Professor McGonagall dryly.

"I doubt," said Dumbledore, in a cheerful but slightly raised voice, which put an end to Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney's conversation, "that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger. Severus, you've made the potion for him again?"

"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape.

"Good," said Dumbledore. "Then he should be up and about it no time…Derek, have you had any of these chipolatas? They're excellent."

The first-year boy went furiously red on being addressed directly by Dumbledore, and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.

Professor Trelawney behaved almost normally until the very end of Christmas dinner, two hours later. Full to bursting with Christmas dinner and still wearing their party hats, Hailey and Ron got up first from the table, causing Professor Trelawney to shriek loudly. "My dears! Which of you left their seat first? Which?"

Ron and Hailey looked uneasily at each other. "Dunno," Ron responded.

"I doubt it will make much a difference," said Professor McGonagall coldly, "unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the entrance hall."

Even Ron laughed and Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted.

"Coming?" Hailey asked Hermione.

"No," Hermione muttered, "I want a quick word with Professor McGonagall."

"Probably trying to see if she can take any more classes," yawned Ron as they made their way into the entrance hall, which was completely devoid of mad axe-men.

When they reached the portrait hole, they found Sir Cadogan enjoying a Christmas party with a couple of monks, several previous headmasters of Hogwarts, and his fat pony. He pushed up his visor and toasted them with a flagon of mead. "Happy—hic—Christmas! Password?"

"Scurvy cur," said Ron.

"And the same to you, sir!" roared Sir Cadogan as the painting swung forward to admit them.

Hailey went to gather her presents and the treats that Mrs Weasley sent her to put in her messenger bag as Ron had sat on the couch to examine the Firebolt. Hailey considered running to get the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given her for her birthday, but decided not to. She sat down and looked at the Firebolt.

The portrait hole opened, and Hermione came in, accompanied by Professor McGonagall. Hermione walked around them, sat down, picked up the nearest book, and hid her face behind it.

"So that's it, is it?" said Professor McGonagall beadily, walking over to the fireside, and staring at the Firebolt. "Miss Granger has just informed me that you have been sent a broomstick, Potter." Hailey and Ron looked around at Hermione. They could see her forehead reddening over the top of her book, which was upside down. "May I?" She didn't wait for an answer before pulling the Firebolt out of their hands. She examined it carefully, from handle to twig-ends. "Hmm. And there was no note at all, Potter? No card? No message of any kind?"

"No," said Hailey blankly, looking at her fingernails, which had just turned black. From what she remembered of the chart, black stood for: fear, nothing, angst, serious, overworked, stormy, depressed, and intense.

"I see…" said Professor McGonagall. "Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Potter."

"W—what?" said Hailey, scrambling to her feet. "Why?"

"It will need to be checked for jinxies," said Professor McGonagall. "Of course, I'm not expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down—"

"Strip it down?" repeated Ron, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.

"It wouldn't take more than a few weeks," said Professor McGonagall. "You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free."

"I don't think there's not wrong with it!" said Hailey, her voice shaking slightly. "Honestly, Professor—"

"You can't know that, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, quite kindly, "not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. Professor Flitwick shall keep you informed." She turned on her heel, but looking back at her. "You should retreat to your common room."

"But its Christmas," said Ron. "Can't she stay here for one night? She's the only one in there."

"For one night only," said Professor McGonagall. She turned on her heel and carried the Firebolt out of the portrait hole, which closed behind her. Hailey stood staring after her.

Ron, however, rounded on Hermione. " _What did you go running to McGonagall for?_ "

Hermione threw her book aside, still pink the face. She stood up and faced Ron defiantly. "Because I thought—and Professor McGonagall agrees with me—that the broom was probably sent to Hailey by Sirius Black!"

* * *

A/N: I had to look up mood ring color charts to see what the the different colors mean, so I can use for it 'Mood Nail Polish' which is like a mood ring, but with nail polish instead. I figure that the wizarding world would actually have some nail that can actually read your moods.


	12. The Patronus

A/N: I know this is a weird place to put it, but here's an answer to Slytherclaw's review on Chapter 8, who wondered how Michael celebrated his fourteenth birthday despite being a third-year.

According to Pottermore, Professor McGonagall got her acceptance letter on her birthday, which is October 4th. She had to wait for nearly a year to go to Hogwarts, so she's eleven when school starts on September 1st, but she turns twelve a month later.

Hermione's birthday is September 19, 1979 according to Pottermore, so she got her acceptance letter around/on her eleventh birthday in 1990. So, Michael got his acceptance letter around/on his eleventh birthday in 1990. The two of them had to wait for the 1991 school year to start, so they can attend; which is why Michael celebrated his fourteenth birthday a month later, just like Professor McGonagall.

Also, many apologies to gaywhovian93 for completely forgetting about their request, so I tried to wiggle it in.

* * *

Hailey knew that Hermione had meant well and that she had a point on the Firebolt possibly being sent to her by Sirius Black. The only thing that angered her was that Hermione didn't tell them that she was going to see Professor McGonagall about it. When Hailey thought about it, she guessed she could blame it on Crookshanks for side-tracking them.

Ron was furious with Hermione too. He thought the stripping down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Apparently Hermione started avoiding the common room. Hailey did find Hermione in the library and told Hermione that she that didn't blame Hermione. Ron of course wanted Hailey to be mad at Hermione for getting the Firebolt taken away, but Hailey couldn't be mad at Hermione. She should've thought of Sirius Black when she got it, but she didn't.

All in all, Hailey was glad that the rest of the school year returned shortly after New Year. She guessed that Cho was going to be the Seeker until Hailey got a new broom or have the Firebolt returned to her when Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch finished checking for jinxes. Cho had gotten a Comet Two Sixty for Christmas that she was excited to use some more, when training resumed.

Hailey couldn't tell if Michael had completely forgotten that he gave her his hoodie or that he conveniently 'forgot' about it. He got a new jacket, which looked like it was black denim, because he told his parents that he lost his grey hoodie. Mandy had gotten metallic magenta sneakers that made her grow two inches. The bottom half was white and Mandy said that she hated having to look up at her friends because she was 5'3.

Hailey told Michael and Mandy about Buckbeak's fate, which made them determined to help Hagrid with the trial. She also told them all about the Firebolt fiasco, which is why Ron is angry at Hermione for it.

"I swear, all they do is get mad at each other over the stupidest things," Mandy muttered.

Hailey had overheard Colton Taylor saying that his holidays was very tense because his mother, who was a good duelist, had found out that Neville was using his father's wand over the summer, so Colton's mother and Neville's grandmother had gotten into a big argument over that, so Neville ended up having to get an appropriate wand to use. Hailey needed to remind herself on asking Neville about the new wand that he got.

* * *

Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had a provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their enjoyment and the spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs.

The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lot no time in informing Hailey that she had the shortest life line she had ever seen. Hailey wondered if that was how she introduced the class to palmistry, like how Hailey was predicted that she was going to die when they first started the school term.

It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Hailey was keen to get to. She wanted to get started on her anti-dementor lessons as soon as possible.

"Ah yes," said Lupin, when Hailey reminded him of his promise at the end of class. "Let me see…how about eight o' clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough…We can't bring a real dementor into the castle to practice on…"

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" asked Ron, as he, Mandy, Michael, and Hailey walked down the corridor, heading to dinner. "What d'you reckon's the matter with him?"

There was a loud and impatient "tuh" from behind them. It was Hermione, who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armour, repacking her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn't close.

"And what are you tutting at us for?" said Ron irritably.

"Nothing," said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder.

"Yes, you were," said Ron. "I said I wonder what's wrong with Lupin, and you—"

"Well, isn't it _obvious_?" said Hermione, with a look of maddening superiority.

"If you don't want to tell us, don't," snapped Ron.

"Fine," said Hermione haughtily, and she marced off.

"She doesn't know," said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione. "She's just trying to get us to talk to her again."

Michael looked uncomfortable. "You can at least try to be a little less…rude to her." With that, he went after Hermione and Hailey awkwardly looked at her nails.

The nail polish turned green and Mandy examined the colour. "Hmm, Peridot green. You must be feeling: mixed emotions, restless, irritated, distressed, worried, and hopeful."

"You memorized the chart?" Hailey asked confused.

"Yes," Mandy said.

Ron ignored them and said, "I wonder why Michael's standing up for Hermione." He looked at them, "Do either of you two think that he fancies Hermione?"

Hailey looked at her nails as they turned a light green colour. Mandy frowned, "Hmm, you must be feeling normal, alert, no great stress, sensitive, jealous, envious, or guarded."

Ron looked at Hailey.

* * *

At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Hailey left the Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when she arrived, but she lit the lanterns with her wand and had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which heaved onto Professor Binn's desk.

"What's that?" asked Hailey.

"Another boggart," said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real dementor. The boggart will turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."

"Okay," said Hailey, trying to sound as if she wasn't apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found a substitute for a real dementor.

"So…" Professor Lupin took out his own wand, and indicated that Hailey should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Hailey—well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."

"How does it work?" asked Hailey nervously and noticed that her nail polish turned orange.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus," explained Lupin, "which is a kind of anti-dementor—a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor."

Hailey had a sudden vision of herself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon—hope, happiness, the desire to survive—but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Hailey, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."

"What does a Patronus look like?" asked Hailey curious.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it," said Lupin.

"And how do you conjure it?" asked Hailey.

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory," explained Lupin.

Hailey thought for a happy memory. Certainly nothing that had happened to her at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, she settled on the moment when she had first ridden a broomstick. "Right," she said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of her stomach.

"The incantation is this—" Lupin cleared his throat, " _Expecto patronum_!"

" _Expecto patronum_ ," Hailey repeated under her breath, " _Expecto patronum_."

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?" Lupin asked.

"Oh—yeah—" said Hailey, quickly forcing her thoughts back to that first broom ride. " _Expecto patrono_ —no, _patronum_ —sorry- _expecto patronum, expecto patronum_ —"

Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of Hailey's wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. "Did you see that?" asked Hailey excited. "Something happened!" She noticed that the nail polish had turned a dark shade of blue.

"Very good," said Lupin, smiling. "Right, then—ready to try it on a dementor?"

"Yes," Hailey said, gripping her wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. She tried to keep her mind of flying, but something else kept popping up…any second now, she might hear her mother again…but she shouldn't think that, or she _would_ hear her again, and she didn't want to…or did she? The nail polish turned yellow. She remembered that yellow meant she was confused…

Lupin grasped the lid of the packing and pulled.

A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Hailey, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lanterns around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Hailey, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over her—

" _Expecto patronum_!" Hailey yelled. " _Expecto patronum_! _Expecto_ —"

The classroom and the dementor were dissolving…Hailey was falling again through the thick white fog, and her mother's voice was louder than ever, echoing inside her head—" _Not Hailey! Not Hailey! Please—I'll do anything—_ "

" _Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!_ "

"Hailey!"

Hailey came too, realizing she was lying flat on her back on the floor. The classroom lanterns were alight again. She didn't have to ask what happened. "Sorry," she muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down her temple.

"Are you all right?" asked Lupin.

"Yes…" Hailey responded pulling herself up on one of the desks and leaned against it.

"Here—" Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had."

"It's getting worse," Hailey muttered, biting off the Frog's head. She wondered if Hermione could create one on her first and if Michael would be impressed it by it. She wondered why she cared about that. "I could hear her louder that time—and him—Voldemort—"

Lupin looked paler than usual. "Hailey, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand—"

"I do!" said Hailey fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog in her mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our match against Gryffindor?"

"All right then…" said Lupin. "You might want to select another memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on…That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough."

Hailey thought hard and decided her feelings when Ravenclaw had won the House Championship last year had definitely qualified as very happy. She gripped her wand tightly again and took up her position in the middle of the classroom.

"Ready?" asked Lupin, gripping the box lid.

"Ready," said Hailey, trying hard to fill her head with happy thoughts about Ravenclaw winning, and not dark thoughts about what was going to happen when the box opened.

"Go!" said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hands was extending toward Hailey—

" _Expecto patronum!_ " Hailey yelled. " _Expecto patronum! Expecto pat_ —"

White fog obscured her sense…big, blurred shapes were moving around her…then came a new voice, a man's voice, shouting, panicking—

" _Lily, take Hailey and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"_

 _The sounds of someone stumbling from a room—a door bursting open—a cackle of high-pitched laughter—_

"Hailey! Hailey…wake up…"

Lupin was tapping Hailey hard on the face. This time it was minute before Hailey understood why she was lying on a dusty classroom floor.

"I heard my dad," Hailey mumbled. "That's the first time I've ever heard him—he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it…"

Hailey suddenly realized that there were tears on her face mingling with the sweat. She bent her face as low as possible, wiping them off on her robes, pretending to do up her shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see.

"You heard James?" asked Lupin in a strange voice.

"Yeah…" Face now dry, Hailey looked up at him, "Why—you didn't know my dad, did you?"

"I—I did, as a matter of fact," said Lupin. "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Hailey—perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced…I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this…"

"No!" snapped Hailey, refusing to back down. Hermione could probably create one on her second try. She got up again. "I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is. Hang on…"

She racked her memories. A really, really happy memory…one that she could turn into a good, strong Patronus…

The moment when she'd first found out she was a witch, and would be leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn't a happy memory, she didn't know what was…Concentrating very hard on how she had felt when she'd realized she'd be leaving Privet Drive, Hailey faced the packing case once more.

"Ready?" asked Lupin, who looked as though he were doing this against his better judgment. "Concentrating hard? All right—go!" He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the dementor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark—

" _Expecto patronum!_ " Hailey bellowed. " _Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum_!"

The screaming inside Hailey's head had started again—except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio—softer and louder and softer again—and she could still see the dementor—it had halted—and then a slender, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Hailey's wand, to hover between her and the dementor, and though Hailey's legs felt like water, she was still on her feet—thought for how much longer, she wasn't sure—

"Riddikulus!" roared Lupin, springing forward.

There was a loud crack and Hailey's cloudy Patronus vanished along with dementor; she sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if she'd just run a mile, and felt her legs shaking. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Professor Lupin forcing the boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again. Something came to mind about it, but she couldn't recall.

"Excellent!" Lupin exclaimed, striding over to where Hailey sat. "Excellent, Hailey! That was definitely a start!"

"Can we have another go? Just one more go?" Hailey asked.

"Not now," said Lupin firmly. "You've had enough for one night. Here—" He handed Hailey a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate. "Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"

"Okay," said Hailey. She took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the dementor. A thought occurred to Hailey. "Professor Lupin? If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

Lupin turned very quickly and sharply asked, "What gives you that idea?"

"Nothing—I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too…" Hailey started.

Lupin's face relaxed, and shortly said, "Yes, I knew him. Or I thought I did. You'd better be off, Hailey, it's getting late."

Hailey left the classroom, walking along the corridor, and around a corner, then took a detour behind a suit of armour and sank down on its plinth to finish off the chocolate. She wished she hadn't mentioned Black, as Lupin was obviously not keen on the subject. Then Hailey's thought wandered back to her mother and father…

She felt drained and strangely empty, even though she was so full of chocolate. Terrible though it was to hear her parents' last moments replayed inside her head, those were the only times Hailey had heard their voices since she was a very small child. But she'd never be able to produce a proper Patronus if she half wanted to hear her parents again…

"They're dead," she told herself sternly. "They'redead and listening to echoes of them won't bring them back. You'd better get a grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup."

* * *

Gryffindor played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Davies, this was good news for Ravenclaw, who would take second place if they beat Gryffindor too. Hailey couldn't find the good news in that, because she had friends who were in Gryffindor. Since of the lost match, Oliver Wood had increased the number of practices to five times a week. On top of practice on the weekend, Hailey still had her anti-dementor classes, which were more draining and still had to do her homework.

From what Mandy told Hailey, Hermione had been looking very strained and looked like she could use a cup of coffee.

As they went down to the breakfast, Ron asked, "How is Hermione doing it?"

"Doing what?" Hailey asked confused.

"Getting to all her classes!" Ron said, "I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, yesterday morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't've been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie Macmillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!" He looked at Michael, "Has she missed a Study of Ancient Runes class?"

Michael seemed to busy himself with looking through a book, "No." With that, he hurried away.

Ron looked at Mandy and Hailey, "He knows something. I don't understand why he's not telling us."

"I doubt he knows something. If he did, he would've told us by now," Mandy said.

"Maybe it has something to do with that personal matter they had talked about that one day," Hailey said bitterly. She wasn't sure why she was still bitter about that and looked at her nails, which had turned Peridot green.

* * *

January had faded in February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Gryffindor was drawing nearer and nearer, but Hailey still hadn't ordered a new broom. It looked like Cho was going to be in the match.

To make matters even worse, Hailey's anti-dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as she had hoped. Several sessions on, she was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the boggart-dementor approached her, but her Patronus was too feeble to drive the dementor away. Maybe it wasn't helping because she kept thinking that Hermione would be able to get it on her second try. All her Patronus did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Hailey of energy as she fought to keep it there. Hailey was angry at herself for thinking that and guilty about wanting to hear her parents' voices again. Her finger nails turned a yellow-orange colour, which was because of her mixed emotions.

"You're expecting too much of yourself," said Professor Lupin sternly in their fourth week of practice. "For a thirteen-year-old-witch, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?"

"I thought a Patronus would—charge the dementors down or something," Hailey admitted. "Make them disappear—"

"The true Patronus does do that," said Lupin. "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground."

"That is, if I play. Cho is going in my spot," Hailey said. "You said it's harder if there are loads of them."

"I have complete confidence in you," said Lupin, smiling. "Here—you've earned a drink—something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before—" He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase.

"Butterbeer! Yeah, I like that stuff!" Hailey exclaimed, without thinking. Lupin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, my friends brought me some back from Hogsmeade," she lied.

"I see," said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. "Well—let's drink to a victory! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher…" he added hastily.

Hailey had no clue which side Professor Lupin was on, but she suspected it was Gryffindor's side, because he said 'a victory' not a Ravenclaw victory or Gryffindor victory. They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Hailey decided to voice a question she wondered about. "What's under a dementor's hood?"

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. "Hmm…well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the dementors lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon."

Hailey frowned, "What's that?"

"They call it the Dementor's kiss," said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and—and suck out his soul."

Hailey accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer. "What—they kill—?" She wiped her mouth off with a sleeve.

"Oh no," said Lupin, "much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no…anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just—exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever…lost." Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, and then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning. The Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

Hailey sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth and then thought of Black. "He deserves it."

"You think so?" said Lupin lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves that?"

"Yes," said Hailey defiantly. "For…for some things…" She thought about it and added, "For murdering those thirteen people." She wanted to tell him about the conversation she overheard, but knew that Lupin wouldn't have been impressed by that, so she finished off the butterbeer, thanked him, and left the History of Magic classroom.

She half wished that she hadn't asked what was under a dementor's hood. The answer she had been given was so horrible and she was so lost in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you that she had almost tripped over Professor Flitwick halfway up the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower. Well, he was going downstairs and Hailey was going up.

"Keep an eye out where you're going, Potter," Professor Flitwick said.

Hailey started, "Sorry Professor—"

"I've just been looking for you in the Ravenclaw common room. Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all. You've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter…"

Hailey's jaw dropped because he was holding out the Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever. She asked weakly, "I can have it back? Seriously?"

"Seriously," said Professor Flitwick, smiling. "Do try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the thirteenth year in a row, as Professor Snape so kindly reminded me last night."

Speechless, Hailey carried the Firebolt upstairs towards the entrance to the common room. After answering the riddle, she walked in. Mandy and Marietta Edgecomb were at a table, surrounded by books. Their heads were bent over something and were prodding something with their wands.

Nicholas Chambers, John Bradley, and Andrew Jamison ran up to Hailey, grinning madly.

"Where'd you get the Firebolt, Hailey?" Nicholas asked.

"Well you let me have a go?" John Bradley pleaded.

"Have you ridden it yet?" Andrew asked.

"Can I _hold_ it?" John asked.

Hailey relented and let the three seconds years hold the Firebolt. Nicholas, John, and Andrew examined the Firebolt.

After six minutes, the three boys handed the Firebolt to Hailey, who made her way over to the table that Mandy and Marietta was occupying.

Hailey looked at them, "What are you two doing?"

"Trying to make this headband change colours," Mandy said, tapping at a clear headband. The headband turned bright yellow for a few seconds before it puttered out. "These books said that it was possible. It's just not working."

Hailey looked around the common room and back at Mandy. "Where's Michael?"

"I think he said something about helping Hermione with her homework," Mandy said. "I think he went to the Gryffindor common room."

"Of course he had," Hailey muttered, annoyed at that, and then annoyed at herself. Hermione probably had a lot of homework to do and Michael was just being a good friend and helping her with it. Granted, Hermione wouldn't accept help, but he was probably helping out with rune translations and the Arithmancy.

Mandy looked up at her, "Have you seen Hermione? She looks like she needs a nap…or coffee."

Marietta looked up and noticed the Firebolt. "Is that a Firebolt? Can I see?" Hailey handed the broom to Marietta, who grabbed it, to examine. "Cho is going to be jealous over this."

After a few minutes, Marietta handed the Firebolt to Hailey as Michael walked in, looking highly disgruntled. He walked over to them, "Well, Hermione and Ron aren't going to be friends anytime soon."

Mandy groaned, "Oh, my god. What happened this time?"

"Crookshanks ate Scabbers," Michael said and then to himself muttered, "That was an odd thing to say."

"Are you sure?" Mandy asked.

"There was blood on the sheets and Crookshanks's fur on the floor," Michael said. "So, be prepared for that."

"Did Scabbers really get eaten?" Mandy asked.

"It looks like it," Michael said.

"Why couldn't they just keep their pets caged up?" Mandy asked. "It would've been so much easier for the both."


	13. Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw

It looked like the end of Hermione and Ron's friendship because of the death of Scabbers. Each Gryffindor was so angry with the other; Hailey had no clue how to make them make up.

Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks's attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on him, and was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting that Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds. Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.

Personally, Hailey was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when she tried to point out to Hermione that the evidence all pointed that way, she lost her temper with Hailey too.

"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Hailey, I've got a lot of work to do!"

Hailey had no clue what to say to that. Mandy refused to 'take sides' because she was busy trying to make a headband change colours, while Michael took Hermione's side, even though he believed that Scabbers ate Crookshanks. Michael said that he thought that Hermione needed someone to be on her side, because Hermione was overworking herself. Ron thought that the reason why Michael was taking Hermione's side was because the two were actually secretly dating, which annoyed Hailey for some reason.

Hailey had noticed that Ron seemed to have taken Scabbers's loss hard and thought of trying to cheer him up by riding the Firebolt after the Ravenclaws practice. Mandy had tagged along, because she thought that fresh air would help her while she attempted to change colours on the headband. Whatever she was doing seemed to work because every time Mandy tapped the headband with her wand, the headband changed different colours, but it didn't seem to stick. Hailey wondered where Michael was and then thought that he was probably in the library with Hermione and that thought annoyed her. She refused to look at her nails, but couldn't help but notice that they were a light green colour.

Madam Hooch was still overseeing the practices to keep an eye on Hailey and seemed to be impressed with Firebolt. She took the broom in her hands before takeoff and gave them the benefit of her professional opinion.

"Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail end—you often find they develop a drag after a few years. They've updated the handle too, a bit slimmer than the Cleansweeps, reminds me of the old Silver Arrows—a pity they've stopped making them. I learned to fly on one and a very fine old broom it was too…" She continued in the vein for some time, until Roger Davies interrupted her so they can practice. "Oh—right—here you are then, Potter. I'll sit here with Weasley and Brocklehurst…"

Mandy, Ron, and Madam Hooch left the field to sit in the stadium, and the Ravenclaw team gathered around Roger for his final instructions for tomorrow's match. Roger looked at Hailey, "Have you sorted out your dementor problem yet?"

"Sort of," Hailey responded, thinking of her feeble Patronus and wished it was stronger.

"Well, have it fully figured out by tomorrow," Roger responded and Hailey nodded. "All right, let's go."

At long last, Hailey mounted the Firebolt and kicked off from the ground.

The Firebolt turned with the lightest touch; it seemed to obey her thought rather than the grip; it sped across the field at such speed that the stadium turned into a green-and-grey blur; Hailey turned so sharply that Nicholas Chambers almost fell off his broom, which she apologized over. She went into a perfectly controlled drive, brushing the grassy field with her toes before rising thirty, forty, fifty feet into the air again. It was better that what she could ever dream of.

"Hailey, I'm letting the Snitch out!" Roger called to her.

Hailey turned and raced a Bludger toward the goal posts; outracing it easily, and saw the Snitch dart out from behind Roger. She flew towards, catching it within ten seconds. Hailey released the Snitch, gave it a minute's head start and then tore after it. She weaved in and out of the others, finally spotting it lurking near John Bradley's knee. She looped the second year easily and caught it again.

It seemed like the best practice ever; the team inspired by the presence of the Firebolt in their midst, performed their best moves flawlessly, and when they finally hit the ground, Roger looked at Hailey. "I don't think nothing can stop us tomorrow. Unless—" he looked at Hailey, "are you sure you have sorted out the dementor problem?"

"Yes," Hailey replied.

"I don't think they would turn up. Dumbledore'd go ballistic at that," Cho pointed out.

"Well, let's hope not," said Roger. "Good work everyone." He clapped everyone on the shoulder, before they packed up their things and started to head back to the locker room. John stopped five steps ahead and turned back to look at Hailey. "Are you coming?"

"I told Ron that I'll let him have a ride on the Firebolt," Hailey told him and he nodded. He followed after Nicholas and Ron vaulted over the barrier to the stands and came over to meet her. Madam Hooch had fallen asleep in her seat and Mandy was now reading a very thin book. Her lips were pursed and she was squinting at the book as if it was written in a language that she semi-understood. Knowing the library, it probably was written in a foreign language.

Hailey handed the Firebolt to Ron, "Enjoy."

Ron took the broom, with a look of ecstasy, mounted it and zoomed off into the gathering darkness while Hailey walked around the edge of the field, watching him. Night had fallen before Madam Hooch awoke with a start, told Hailey, Ron, and Mandy off for no waking her, and insisted that they go back to the castle.

Hailey shouldered the Firebolt, Mandy walked over to them, muttering something about sending an order to get fireflies and glowworms. She also said muttered about bloody potions taking two months to brew.

They walked out of the shadowy stadium, Ron and Hailey discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, its phenomenal acceleration, and its pinpoint turning. They were halfway toward the castle when Hailey, glancing to his left, saw something that made her heart turn over—a pair of eyes, gleaming out of the darkness. Hailey stopped dead, her heart beating rapidly.

"What's the matter?" asked Ron.

Hailey pointed and her two friends pulled out their wands, muttering " _Lumos_."

Two beams of light illuminated the grass and the trees. Crouching among the budding leaves was Crookshanks.

"Get out of here!" Ron shouted. He stopped down and grabbed a tone lying on the grass. Before he could do something dangerous with it, Crookshanks wandered off, with one swish on his long ginger tail. "See?" He dropped the stone. "She's still letting him wander about wherever he wants—probably washing down Scabbers with a couple of birds now."

"Once, I rescued a baby bird and my neighbour's cat ate it." Mandy said, causing the two to look at her. Mandy smiled, "What? Michael's not the only one who can have experiences, you know?"

Hailey couldn't say anything to that because she was taking a few deep breaths, relieved. She was sure that for a moment there, those eyes had belonged to the Grim. They continued on to the castle and Hailey was feeling slightly ashamed with herself because of the panic she felt. She didn't anything to her friends and she didn't look to the side, until they walked into the well-lit entrance hall.

* * *

Hailey and Mandy went down to breakfast the next morning. As Hailey and Mandy entered the Great Hall, heads turned in the direction of the Firebolt, and there was a great deal of excited muttering. Hailey couldn't help but be satisfied at the thunderstruck looks from the Gryffindor team.

Ron came over to sit momentarily at the Ravenclaw table, next to Hailey. He gleefully said, "Did you see his face?" He looked over at Malfoy, "He can't believe it! This is brilliant." Ron clapped Hailey on the back a few times as if it was the most greatest joke she ever told, before heading over to the Gryffindor table.

Mandy was ecstatic at the thought of tormenting Malfoy, put the Firebolt in the middle of the table, turning it over so the name faced upward.

People from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables were coming over to look. Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Hailey on having acquired such a superb replacement for the Nimbus. Eva, holding her pet Puffskein, Eve, walked over to the table confused, sat down, and asked Michael what the deal was, since it was a broom.

Penelope Clearwater, Percy's girlfriend, asked if she can hold the Firebolt. Percy came over to examine the Firebolt, looking dejected.

Penelope set the Firebolt down and went back to her spot at the table.

"Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match," Percy said. " _And I haven't got ten Galleons_."

"I got you covered," Eva said. "Here, Mikey, hold Eve." She handed Michael the Puffskein and pulled a black and yellow knitted coin purse, with the Hufflepuff badger on it, from her bag. She unzipped it, poured out a handful of Galleons on her hand, and handed it to Percy. "Here you go. No take-backs." Hailey noticed that the coin purse was probably filled with Galleons, was now halfway filled. Percy looked a little confused, walked over to join Penelope to eat some toast.

Michael was looking slightly confused. "Where did you get all those Galleons from?"

Eva looked shifty eyed and started, "I…"

Michael asked, "What _did_ you _do_?"

"Nothing shady at all, if that's what you're asking," Eva said, looking at the food.

"You lie," Michael said.

Eva grabbed a roll and crammed it in her mouth, before walking away, leaving Eve behind with Michael.

"Apparently, I'm not the one that's doing any rule-breaking this year," Michael said, absentmindedly petting Eve, who started to hum in content.

"How do you know she was breaking the rules?" Mandy asked, as she filled out what looked like some type of form. She kept looking back and forth from the parchment and the page of the book she had her elbow on.

"She was lying," Michael said.

"All right," Mandy said. "That's all I need for this potion. I still can't believe it'll take two bloody months to brew."

Michael looked at Hailey, "Should I tell my parents?"

Hailey shrugged, slightly uncomfortable, "You can if you want."

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice.

Malfoy and his two goons had arrived for a closer look.

"Yeah, reckon so," said Hailey causually.

"Sure you can manage with that black-eye I'm about to give you?" Mandy asked, glaring at the three Slytherins.

Crabbe and Goyle rubbed their fists in what was supposed to be menacing, but Mandy just stared at them blankly.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" asked Malfoy, eyes glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute—in case you get too near a dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," said Hailey. "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

Mandy and Michael laughed at that. Malfoy's eyes narrowed and he stalked away. They watched him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, no doubt, asking Malfoy whether Hailey's broom really was a Firebolt.

"That can't be good," Mandy said. "Maybe he's still angry over Michael throwing that crocodile heart at him in Potions that one day."

Cho looked at Michael, "You threw a crocodile heart at him?" She looked really impressed and amused.

* * *

At a quarter to eleven, the Ravenclaw team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from the match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time. Hailey was feeling nervous, yet was beginning to feel very excited. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond. Hailey took off the black school robes, removed her wand from the pocket, and stuck it inside the shirt pocket that she was going to wear under the Quidditch robes. She hoped that she wouldn't need it and then wondered if Professor Lupin was going to be in the crowd, watching, or if he suddenly decided to fall ill again.

"You know, if we lose that's okay," said Roger, "however, winning would be a hell a lot less embarrassing than losing."

With that in mind, they walked out onto the field to a tumultuous applause. The Gryffindor team, dressed in scarlet where standing in the middle of the field.

Hailey couldn't help but notice Malachi Lovelace, the fourth year Seeker. He was taller than Hailey by about three inches. He had shaggy brown hair and green eyes. Hailey was sure that he was the son of Colton Taylor's favourite writer, Malachi Lovelace, who went missing in the Himalyas eleven years ago. Malachi smiled at her and she awkwardly smiled back at him.

"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and Roger Davies shook hands with Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Captain. "Mount your brooms…on my whistle…three—two—one—"

Hailey kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than the other brooms. She soared around the stadium and began squinting around for the Snitch, listening all the while to the commentary, which was being provided by the Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan.

"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Hailey Potter is flying for Ravenclaw. According to _Which Broomstick_ , the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship—"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on it the match?" interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Right you are, Professor—just giving a bit of background information—the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-break and—"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall scolded.

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal…"

Hailey streaked past Katie in the opposite direction, gazing around for a glint of gold and noticing that Malachi Lovelace was tailing her closely. He was undoubtedly a very good flier—he kept cutting across Hailey, forcing her to change direction.

"Outrun him, Hailey!" Duncan Inglebee yelled as he whooshed past to hit a Bludger towards Alicia Spinnet, Hailey was sure.

Hailey urged the Firebolt forward to go around the Ravenclaw goal posts and Malachi fell behind. Katie succeeded in scoring the first goal of the match, and the Gryffindor end of the field went wild. Hailey saw the Snitch which was close to the ground, flitting near one of the barriers. Hailey dived and Malachi saw what she was doing and tore after her—Hailey was speeding up, excitement flooding her since dives was her specialty, she was ten feet away—

A Bludger went speeding at her, after being hit by one of the Weasley twins. Hailey veered off course, avoiding it by an inch. After losing those few seconds, the Snitch had vanished.

Jason Samuels hit the Bludger directly at one of the Weasley twins, who had to roll over in midair to avoid it.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn—Lovelace's Nimbus is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long—"

"Jordan! Are you being paid to advertise Firebolts? Get on with the commentary!" Professor McGonagall shouted.

Ravenclaw had now scored three goals, Gryffindor was ahead by fifty points—if Hailey got to the Snitch before Malachi, Ravenclaw would win. Hailey saw John Bradley coming straight at her and dropped to avoid having a collision in mid-air. Hailey noticed a glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings right near the Gryffindor goal post—she accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead—but then Malachi appeared, blocking her—she had to veer off course to avoid having a mid-air collision.

"Malachi, this is no time to be gentleman! Knock her off her broom if you have to!" Wood roared at Malachi.

Hailey noticed that Malachi was grinning at her. The Snitch had vanished again and she turned the Firebolt upwards, going twenty feet above the game. She actually considered ramming into Malachi for next year's game for intentionally toying with her and then wondered how badly it would hurt. Maybe during practice, she'll talk someone into having a mid-air collision just to see what it was like.

She saw something glittering way above the Ravenclaw end. She accelerated for it and Malachi from many feet below, saw, and followed after her.

Malachi pointed and shouted, "Again?"

Hailey couldn't help but look down, trying to see what the fourth year was talking about. There were three, tall, black, hooded dementors, looking up at her.

She plunged a hand down the neck of her robes, whipped out her, and shouted, " _Expecto patronum!_ " Something silver-white, something middle sized erupted from the end of her wand. She didn't stop to see and looked ahead to find the Snitch. She was nearly there and stretched out her hand, still holding her wand, and grasped the small, struggling Snitch.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. Hailey turned around in midair and saw six blue blurs bearing down on her. The whole team was now hugging her so hard; she was nearly pulled off her broom, and she can hear the roars from the Ravenclaws.

She wasn't sure how they got to the ground and she got off the broom. The cheering Ravenclaws were now engulfing her.

Mandy and Michael had sandwiched Hailey in some sort of group hug. Mandy exclaimed, "Great job, Hailey!" She released Hailey turned away to say something to one of Hailey's teammates. Hailey turned to face Michael, but to her surprise, Michael kissed her, but he seemed surprised at that.

"I was going to kiss your cheek," Michael said. He awkwardly released his arms from Hailey and took a step back. He was looking over Hailey's shoulder.

Before Hailey can even ask why Michael was reacting like that, a voice said in her ear, "That was quite some Patronus." Hailey turned around and saw that it was Professor Lupin, who looked shaken and pleased.

"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Hailey said excited. "I didn't feel a thing!"

"That would be because they—er—weren't dementors," said Professor Lupin. "Come and see—" He led Hailey out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field. "You gave Mr Malfoy quite a fright."

Hailey stared. Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Malfoy, Crabb, Goyle, and Marcus Flint, they Slytherin team Captain, all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It looked as though Malfoy had been standing on Goyle's shoulders.

Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall. "An unworthy trick!" she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Ravenclaw Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"

If anything could have set the seal on Ravenclaw's victory, it was this. Ron, who had fought his way through the crowd to Hailey's side, doubled up with laughter as they watched Malfoy fighting extricate himself from the robe, Goyle's head still suck inside it.

* * *

Hailey couldn't talk to Michael about him accidentally kissing her because it seemed like all the Ravenclaws had to congratulate her on winning and it seemed like Michael was sticking to the boys' dormitory. So far, it didn't seem like anyone asked her about it, so they probably didn't notice or cared either way.

Hailey had a very strange dream that night.

 _She was walking through a forest, her Firebolt over her shoulder, following something silvery-white. It was winding its way through the trees ahead, and she could only catch glimpses of it between the leaves. Anxious to catch up with it, she sped up, but as she moved faster so did his quarry. Hailey broke into a run, and ahead she heard hooves gathering speed. Now she was flat out running and ahead she could hear galloping. She turned a corner into a clearing and—_

She woke up, confused. She wasn't sure what it was, but she noticed that the dormitory door was slowly opening up. The Head Girl, Rebecca, poked her head in, holding out her wand, which was glowing. She walked in, looked around the room for something, before she left, closing the door.

Hailey couldn't help but find that very odd.

* * *

A/N: In Year 2, I created the character Malachi Lovelace, who happened to be a writer. So, I was creating an older, male Gryffindor Seeker for Hailey, and Malachi Lovelace appeared in my mind, and figured that if the writer disappeared eleven years ago, he could've had a kid, who was three at the time.

So, I created Malachi to sort of have the inverted dynamic that Harry and Cho have. So, since Cho happens to be a year above Harry and is in Ravenclaw, I created Malachi Lovelace Junior, where he's a Gryffindor and one year above Hailey.


	14. Snape's Grudge

The next morning, before Hailey went down to breakfast, she looked around the dormitory for whatever it was that the Head Girl was probably looking for, but she didn't find anything. She told Mandy what had happened.

Mandy shrugged and was putting an envelope in her messenger bag. "Maybe someone left the Tower for some reason and Rebecca was just making sure that no one else did the same."

Hailey doubted that but she didn't say anything. It made a lot more sense. As they were going to leave the common room, Michael walked up, and Hailey busied herself looking through her bag so she can avoid looking at Michael and try to hide her blush. She was still a little embarrassed about accidentally kissing him, but that's what it was, an accident. It was something that should never be spoken about again, especially since she suspected that Michael and Hermione were secretly dating. Although she didn't know why they don't just come forward and say that they were. So, she and Michael had some sort of silent agreement on never bringing it up again, but she had a feeling that it was going to been brought up again some day.

"So, I came to the conclusion that Eva is running some sort of illegal underground gambling ring," Michael said.

Hailey looked up at him at that, "What?"

"That's probably how she got all that money," Michael said.

Mandy asked, "Why not an underground Puffskein breeding ground?"

"Eva is really good at cards," Michael said.

For some reason, Hailey pictured Hufflepuff and Slytherins getting together to have a few rounds of poker in the dungeons during Friday nights. She said, "If you say so."

When they met up with Ron, he told them that Sirius Black struck again last night. Apparently Sirius Black slashed at the curtains hanging around Ron's bed and for some ran off after Ron yelled.

"This makes no sense," Mandy said. "Why go inside the Gryffindor dormitory? The _boys'_ dormitory. Does Sirius Black actually think you're a boy now?"

Hailey thought about it. "I remember Fudge saying that Black and my dad used to be friends. Black probably thinks that I'm a Gryffindor, because my parents were Gryffindors. I figure that could explain why he tried to break-in that one night."

"But why would he run though?" Michael asked. "He murdered thirteen people with no problem. He could've killed you before he ran off, to save him the trouble."

Ron shrugged.

* * *

Throughout the day, everywhere they went, they saw signs of tighter security. Professor Flitwick was teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black. Filch was boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired and his portrait had been taken back to is lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She was expertly restored, but apparently still nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. Ron told them that a bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. The trolls paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts, and comparing the size of their clubs.

Hailey couldn't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. Fred and George seemed to be right on thinking that they—and now Hailey, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael—were the only ones who knew about the hidden passageway within it.

"D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Hailey asked Ron.

"We know he's not coming in through Honeyduke's," said Ron dismissively. "We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into."

Hailey was thankful that Ron took that view as well. If the one-eyed witch was boarded up, she wouldn't be able to go back to Hogsmeade ever again.

Over the new few days, Ron seemed to have become an instant celebrity over what had happened. It seemed like people were paying more attention to him than Hailey. Hailey was amused to see that Ron seemed to be enjoying the attention, even though he was still shaken. He was happy to go into great detail about it when asked.

Ron was saying to a group of second year girls, "…I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft…I woke up and one side of my hangings had been pulled down…I rolled over…and I saw him standing over me…like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair…holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches…and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he _scampered._ "

The next day, Hailey found out that Neville was in total disgrace, because he had written down the list of passwords so he can remember, but misplaced the list, which Black used to get inside the common room. Professor McGonagall was so angry; that she barred Neville from further Hogsmeade visitations, given a detention, and forbade the other Gryffindors from telling him the password, so Neville had to wait every night for somebody to let him in. Not even Neville's cousin, Colton Taylor, can console him. "Don't beat yourself up to badly, even I made mistakes," Hailey overheard Colton say to Neville.

Two days after the break-in, Hailey noticed a huge barn owl landing in front of Neville, a scarlet letter clutched in its beak, which Hailey recognized as a Howler. Ron had gotten one last year after Ron and she stole Mr Weasley's flying Ford Anglia to fly to Hogwarts after they couldn't get onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Neville got up with the Howler, and ran from the Great Hall, much to the Slytherins amusement. In the entrance hall, they heard Neville's grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about how he had brought shame on the whole family.

Hailey considered showing Neville the passageway to Hogsmeade from the one-eyed witch to cheer Neville up after his entire ordeal. Maybe she could get something for him in Hogsmeade and wondered what it was that Neville liked. She could consider asking Colton or Neville, but say that her friends would get him something from Hogsmeade.

Something pinched her wrist sharply. Hailey jumped, "Ouch!" She noticed Hedwig in front of her. "Oh—thanks, Hedwig."

Hailey opened the envelope while Hedwig helped herself to some of Mandy's toast. "It's all right, it's not like I was eating that." Mandy said sarcastically as Hailey looked at the note.

 _Dear, Hailey, Michael, Ron, and Mandy,_

 _How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six?  
_ _I'll come and collect you from the castle.  
_ _WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL;  
_ _YOU'RE NOT ALLOW OUT ON YOUR OWN._

 _Cheers,_

 _Hagrid_

Hailey passed the note to Ron, who looked over it and said, "He probably wants to hear all about Black!"

Mandy was examining a jar of dead fireflies and Michael was looking at a jar of dead glowworms. "These bugs are real bloody creepy."

"Can you put your dead bugs away? I'm eating," Stephen Cornfoot said, looking at the jars with disgust. Michael handed the jar to Mandy, who stuffed them in her bag.

* * *

At six o'clock in the evening, they made their way to the entrance hall meeting up with Ron along the way. Hagrid was already waiting for them.

"All right, Hagrid!" said Ron, "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?"

"I've already heard all abou' it," said Hagrid, opening the front doors and leading them outside.

"Oh," said Ron, looking slightly put out. Michael snickered and Ron elbowed him in the stomach. Michael shoved Ron to the side with his shoulder in return.

The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, who was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large play of dead ferrets. Mandy and Hailey both averted their eyes to avoid seeing the unpleasant sight. Hailey noticeda gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.

"Is that where Americans got their Bigfoot from?" Michael whispered to Hailey, looking at the suit.

"What are they for, Hagrid?" Hailey asked, trying not to laugh.

"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures," said Hagrid. "This Friday. Him an' me'll be going down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus…"

Hailey felt a nasty pang of guilt because she had completely forgotten that Buckbeak's trial was so near, and judging by the uneasy look on Mandy's and Ron's faces, they had forgotten too. Hailey looked at Michael, who just seemed stoic. They had forgotten their promise about helping Hagrid prepare Buckbeak's defense; the arrival of the Firebolt, the fight between Ron and Hermione, and a bunch of other stuff, had driven it clean out of their minds.

Hagrid poured them tea and offered them a plate of Bath buns, but they rejected, having enough experience with Hagrid's cooking.

Hagrid looked at Hailey and Ron. "I got somethin' ter discuss with you two." He sat himself between Hailey and Ron, and Mandy and Michael.

Hailey asked, "What?"

"Hermione," said Hagrid.

"What about her?" asked Ron.

"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat—"

"—ate Scabbers!" interrupted Ron angrily.

"Because her cat acted like all cats do," Hagrid commented doggedly. "She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help with Buckbeak's case, mind…She and Michael found some really good stuff fer me…reckon he'll stand a good chance now…"

"Hagrid, we should've helped as well—sorry—" Hailey started awkwardly.

"I'm not blamin' yeh!" said Hagrid, waving Hailey's apology aside. "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be getting' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch every chance yeh've got—but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all."

Hailey looked at Ron, who looked uncomfortable. Hailey was trying to talk to Hermione, but Ron seemed dead-set on getting Hailey on his side, while Michael was on Hermione's side, while he helped Hermione with Buckbeak's case. Mandy refused to take sides, preferring to work on her colour-changing headbands.

"Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talking to her—"

"If she's just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!" Ron said angrily, "But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!"

"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," said Hagrid wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow, much to Mandy's disgust.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Hailey recieved a note from Ron sent to her by Hedwig, telling her to go to Hogsmeade, so he can show her around Zonko's. Hailey let Mandy and Michael know what she planned as she put the Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's map, a few rolls of her finished homework in her bag, some quills, and a bottle of ink. With that, she went to breakfast with the others. Hermione kept giving them suspicious looks and Hailey kept avoiding Hermione's eye. Hailey was careful to let Hermione seem her walk up the marble staircase in the entrance hall as everybody proceeded to the front doors.

"'Bye!" Hailey said to her friends. "See you when you get back!" She realized how suspicious that sounded, even though Ron grinned and winked. She could've sworn she saw Michael roll his eyes at that. Maybe it was because how suspicious that was, Hailey wasn't sure.

Hailey hurried up to the third floor, taking the Marauder's Map out of her pocket as she went. Crouching behind the one-eyed witch, she smoothed it out. A tiny dot was moving in her direction and Hailey squinted at it, trying to make out the minuscule writing next to it. It read: _Neville Longbottom_.

Hailey quickly pulled out her wand, muttered, " _Dissendium_!" and shoved her bag into the statue, but before she could climb in herself, Neville came around the corner.

"Hailey! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either," Neville said.

"Hi, Neville," said Hailey, moving swiftly away from the statue. She pushed the map in her jacket pocket. Actually it was Michael's jacket, but she 'forgot' to return it to him. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," shrugged Neville. "Want a game of Exploding Snap?"

Hailey faltered, "Er—not now—I was going to go to the library to finish that vampires for that essay that Lupin wanted us to do—"

"I'll come with you!" said Neville brightly. "I haven't finished it either!"

"I think I just need one more sentence," Hailey replied, already feeling bad for the Gryffindor.

"You can help me!" said Neville, looking anxious. "I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all—do they have to eat it, or—" He gasped, staring at something over Hailey's shoulder.

Before Hailey can actually tell him that she was that vampires can't eat garlic or smell it, a voice said, "And what are you two doing here?" It was Snape. Hailey turned around to look at him. He looked from between Hailey and Neville. "And odd place to meet—" Snape was looking between the doorways on either side of them and then to the one-eyed witch.

"We're not—meeting here," Hailey said. "We just—met here."

"Indeed?" said Snape. "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter, and you are very rarely there for no good reason…I suggest the pair of you return to your Towers, where you belong."

Hailey and Neville set off without another word. As they turned the corner, Hailey looked back to see Snape running on his hands over the one-eyed witch's head, examining it closely.

Hailey felt bad because she had to leave Neville at the Gryffindor portrait because she didn't know the password. The trolls observed her as if she was some sort of threat, which is probably because she was a Ravenclaw. She turned around and once she was out of sight of the security trolls, took out the Marauder's Map again. She looked at the third corridor, which looked deserted and then looked for Snape's tiny dot, to see that he was in his office. She went back to the one-eyed witch's statue, opened its hump, heaved herself inside, and slid down to her bag at the bottom of the stone chute. She wiped the Marauder's Map blank, grabbed her bag, and set off at a run.

* * *

Hailey, completely hidden by the Invisibility Cloak, emerged into sunlight outside Honeyduke's, and prodded Ron in the back and flicked Mandy's ear.

"It's me," Hailey muttered to the two.

"What kept you?" Ron hissed.

"Snape was hanging around…" Hailey told them and they set off up the High Street. "Where's Michael?"

"He went to go hang out with Hermione," Mandy whispered to Hailey.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Of course he did."

"He's Hermione's friend too," Mandy muttered. "You heard Hagrid. She's in a real state. We should take her to Professor Flitwick. Maybe he can cheer her up with those dancing cupcakes."

"Dancing cupcakes?" Ron asked, looking at Mandy.

"Yeah, doesn't Professor McGonagall have a way to cheer Gryffindors up?" Mandy asked confused.

"No," Ron said.

They went to the post office first. Ron pretended to be checking the price of an owl to Bill in Egypt and Mandy grabbed a form to look at it, although they did that so Hailey look around. The owls sat hooting softly down at her. There was at least three hundred owls; from Great Greys right down to tiny little Scops owls ("Local Deliveries Only"), which were so small they could have sat in the palm of Hailey's hand.

They visited Zonko's, which was so packed with students, Hailey had to be careful not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There were jokes and tricks to fulfill even Fred's and George's wildest dreams. Hailey gave Ron whispered orders and passed him some gold from under the cloak.

"I wonder what Rebecca is doing here," Mandy said, looking at the Ravenclaw, who was holding a package of fireworks. She was examining it closely, before she set it to the side and moved on.

They left Zonko's with their money bags a little lighter than they had been when they went in their. Hailey bought some Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and a Nose-Biting Teacup.

The day was fine and breezy, and the three didn't feel like staying indoors, so they walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slop to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain.

It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden.

"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it," said Ron as they leaned on the fence, looking up at it. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick…he say he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get it. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut…"

"I bet I can," Mandy said. "If I knocked the boards loose, maybe…"

Hailey was busy feeling like she was overheating and considered taking the Invisibility Cloak off.

"…should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm…about how I couldn't use it for three months…" Malfoy was saying. They had climbed the hill to get to the Shrieking Shack.

"I'll like to give him a real injury to complain about," Mandy muttered.

"I really wish I could hear that great hair moron trying to defend himself…" Malfoy continued, "'There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest—'…that hippogriff's as good as dead—"

Malfoy's pale face split in a malevolent grin. "What are you doing, Weasley and Brocklehurst?" Malfoy looked up at the crumbling house and back at the two. "Suppose you'd love to live here, wouldn't you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room—is that true?"

Hailey had to grab the back of Ron's robest to stop him from leaping on Malfoy.

"Is it true that you're a prat because your mother didn't discipline you because your parents pawned you off on your house-elves?" Mandy asked.

Hailey whispered to her two friends, "Leave him to me." She crept silently around behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. She bend down and scooped a large handful of mud out of the path.

"We were just discussing you friend Hagrid," Malfoy said to them. "Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off the hippogriff's—"

Hailey threw the mud at Malfoy's head, which jerked forward. His silver-blond hair was suddenly dripping with mud. "What the—?"

Ron was holding onto the fence to keep from falling over because he was laughing so hard. Mandy was doubled up laughing. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyl spun around stupidly, looking wildly around, while Malfoy tried to wipe his hair clean. "What was that? Who did that?"

"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron conversationally.

"Yeah, didn't you know that?" Mandy said.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared, because their bulging muscles were no use against ghosts. Malfoy was staring madly around at the deserted landscape.

Hailey went along the path, where a particularly sloppy puddle yielded some foul-smelling, green sludge. She scooped some up and threw it at Crabbe and Goyle, who both got hit. Goyle hopped furiously on the spot, trying to rub it out of his small, dull eyes.

"It came from over there!" said Malfoy, wiping his face, and staring at a spot some six feet to the left of Hailey.

Crabbe blundered forward, his long arms outstretched like a zombie. Hailey dodged around him, picked up a stick, and lobbed it at Crabbe's back. Crabbe did a kind of pirouette in midair, trying to see who had thrown it. Hailey doubled up, trying hard not to laugh. Ron and Mandy were laughing. Is Crabbe could see the two of them, he started toward them. Hailey stuck out her leg, trying to trip him, like Dudley had done plenty of times to her. Crabbe stumbled—and his huge, flat foot caught the hem of Hailey cloak. Hailey felt a great tug and the cloak slid off her face.

Malfoy stared at her and then yelled, pointing at Hailey's head. He turned tail and ran at breakneck speed, back down the hill, Crabbe and Goyle, following after.

Hailey tugged the cloak up again, but she knew that the damage was done.

"Hailey!" Ron said, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at the point where Hailey had disappeared.

"Run for it!" Mandy shouted.

Ron continued, "If Malfoy tells anyone—you'd better get back to the castle, quick—"

"See you later," said Hailey, and tore back down the path towards Hogsmeade.

Would Malfoy believe what he had seen? Would anyone believe Malfoy? Nobody knew about the Invisibility Cloak—nobody except Dumbledore. Hailey jolted—Dumbledore would know exactly what had happened, if Malfoy said anything.

Back into Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the stone floor, through the trapdoor—Hailey pulled off the cloak, tucked it under her arm, and ran, flat out, along the passage…

She knew that Malfoy would get back first…how long would it take him to find a teacher? Hailey felt a sharp pain in her side, but tried to disregard it, by not slowing down, until she reached the stone slide. She would have to leave the cloak where it was, it was too much of a giveaway, in case Malfoy had tipped off a teacher—she hid the cloak in a shadowy corner, then started to climb as fast as she could. Her hands sweaty and muddy, which were slipping on the sides of the chute. When she reached the inside of the witch's hump, she tapped it with her wand, stuck her head through, and hoisted herself out. When Hailey jumped out from behind the statue, the hump closed and she heard quick footsteps approaching. Of course Malfoy would go straight to Snape.

Snape approached Hailey at a swift walk, his black robes swishing, then stopped in front of her. He started, "So…."

He had a look of suppressed triumph and Hailey tried to look innocent, all too aware of her sweaty face and muddy hands, which she hide in her robes pockets.

"Come with me, Potter," said Snape.

Hailey followed him downstairs, trying to wipe her hands clean on the inside of her robes without Snape noticing. They went down the stairs to the dungeons and then into Snape's office.

It wasn't the first time she had been in there, which she had been in serious trouble too. She noticed that Snape had acquired a few more slimy horrible things in jar since then.

"Sit," said Snape. Hailey sat down, while Snape remained standing. "Mr Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter." Hailey refused to say anything. "He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he ran into Weasley and Brocklehurst—apparently both alone." Hailey didn't speak, knowing that he would probably yell 'silence' at her. "Mr Malfoy states that he was standing, talking to Weasley and Brocklehust, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do you think that could have happened?"

Hailey tried to look mildly surprised. "I don't know, Professor."

Snape's eyes were boring into Hailey's, making her feel like she was trying to stare down a hippogriff again. She tried hard not to blink. Snape said, "Mr Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been, Potter?"

"No," said Hailey, trying to sound innocently curious.

"It was your head, Potter. Floating in midair," Snape said.

Hailey tried not to laugh at that and said, "Maybe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey, if he's seeing things like—"

"What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?" said Snape softly. "Your head is not allowed in Hogmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade."

"I know that," said Hailey, trying to keep her face free of guilt or fear. "It sounds like Malfoy's having hallucinations—"

"Malfoy is not having hallucinations," snarled Snape. He bent down in front of her so their faces were about a foot apart. "If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you."

Hailey was a little uncomfortable at the close proximity. "I've been up in Ravenclaw Tower, like you told—"

"Can anyone confirm that?" Snape asked.

Hailey didn't say anything. Snape's thin mouth curled into a horrible smile. "So," Snape said, straightening up again. "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Hailey Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Hailey Potter is a law unto herself. Let the ordinary people worry about her safety! Famous Hailey Potter goes where she want to, with no thought for the consequences."

Hailey stayed silent, knowing that Snape was trying to provoke her into telling the truth. She wasn't going to fall for it because Snape had no proof—yet.

"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter," said Snape suddenly, his eyes glinting. "He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers…If you had black hair, the resemblance between you would've been uncanny."

"My dad didn't _strut_ ," said Hailey, before she can stop herself. She added, "And neither do I."

"Your father didn't set much store by rules either," Snape went on, his thin face full of malice. "Rules were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head so swollen—"

"Shut up!" shouted Hailey. She was suddenly on her feet, angry, just like the last night on Privet Drive.

Snape's face had gone rigid, his black eyes flashing dangerously. " _What did you say to me, Potter?_ "

"I told you to shut up about my dad!" Hailey yelled. "I know the truth, all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!"

Snape's sallow skin had gone the colour of sour milk. "And did the headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father saved my life?" he whispered. "Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for precious Potter's delicate ears?"

Hailey bit her lip. She didn't know what had happened and didn't want to admit it—but Snape seemed to have guessed the truth.

"I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter," he said, a terrible grin twisting his face. "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you—your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts." Snape's uneven, yellowish teeth were bared. "Turn out your pockets, Potter!" he spat suddenly.

Hailey didn't move because there was a pounding in her ears.

"Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the headmaster! Pull them out, Potter!"

Cold with dread, Hailey slowly pulled out the Marauder's Map and the bag from Zonko's. Snape had picked up the bag of Zonko's trick and the Marauder's Map.

"My friends gave them to me," said Hailey, hoping she'll get a chance to tell her friends before Snape saw them. "They—brought them back from Hogsmeade last time—"

"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching…" He noticed the map and picked it up, "and what is this?"

Hailey tried to keep her face impassive and shrugged, "Spare bit of parchment."

Snape turned it over, his eyes on Hailey.

"Surely you don't need such a very _old_ piece of parchment?" Snape said and his hand moved to the fire. "Why don't I just—throw this away?"

"No!" said Hailey quickly.

"So!" said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. "Is this another treasured gift from your friends? Or is it—something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or—instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the dementors?"

Hailey blinked and Snape's eyes gleamed.

"Let me see, let me see…" he muttered, taking out his wand and smoothing the map out on his desk. "Reveal your secret!" He touched the wand to the parchment. Nothing happened.

Hailey clenched her hands to stop them from shaking. She could say that it was old because she thought Professor Binns would like the parchment because of nostalgia's sake. Maybe she could say that she thought that Professor Binns would give her some extra credit for it. She was a Ravenclaw after all and she was an overachiever because of that.

"Show yourself!" Snape said, tapping the map sharply.

It stayed blank and Hailey took some deep, calming breaths. Before she could say something about Professor Binns, Snape said, "Professor Serverus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" He hit the map with his wand.

Hailey, confused, thought, _Master of this school?_

Words appeared on the smooth surface of the map:

 _Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snap, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business._

Snape froze and Hailey stared, dumbstruck at the message, not expecting that. More writing was appearing beneath the first.

 _Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git._

Hailey thought that was going a little too far. More writing appeared.

 _Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonish that an idiot like that ever became a professor._

Hailey closed her eyes in horror and opened them again.

 _Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball._

Hailey waited for the final blow to come at her. What was her punishment? Instead, she watched Snape walk to the fire, seized a fistful of Floo Powder from a jar on the fireplace and threw it into the flames. "Lupin!" Snape called into the fire. "I want a word!"

Hailey bewildered, thought, _what is going on?_ Hailey stared at the fire as it seemed to be revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor Lupin was clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off of his shabby robes.

"You called, Severus?" Lupin asked mildly.

Hailey thought, _more like summoned._

"I certainly did," said Snape, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk. "I have just asked Potter to empty her pockets. She was carrying this." Snape pointed at the parchment, the words from Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were still shining. Hailey noticed an odd, closed expression appeare on Lupin's face.

"Well?" said Snape.

Lupin continued to stare at the map and Hailey wondered if he was doing some very quick thinking.

" _Well_?" Snape prompted again. "This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?"

Lupin looked up and half-glanced in Hailey's direction. It seemed like he was telling her not to interrupt.

"Full of Dark Magic?" Lupin repeated mildly. "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Hailey got it from a joke shop—"

"Indeed?" said Snape. His jaw was rigid with anger. "You think a joke shop could supply her with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that she got it _directly from the manufacturers_?"

 _What does that mean?_ Hailey thought confused. Apparently Lupin didn't understand what Snape was talking about, too.

"You mean, by Mr Wormtail or one of these people?" Lupin said. "Hailey, do you know any of these men?"

"No," said Hailey quickly.

"You see, Severus?" said Lupin, turning back to Snape. "It looks like a Zonko product to me—"

Ron and Mandy both came bursting into the office. The two of them were completely out of breath, and stopped just short of Snape's desk, clutching at their sides.

"We—gave—Hailey—that stuff," Ron choked. "Bought—it—"

"In—Zonko's—ages—ago," Mandy finished for Ron, still breathing heavily.

"Well!" said Lupin, clapping his hands together and looked around cheerfully. "That seemed to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes. "Hailey, Ron, Mandy, come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay—excuse us, Severus—"

Hailey didn't dare to look back at Snape as they left his office. The four walked all the way back into the entrance hall before speaking.

Hailey turned to Lupin. "Professor, I—"

"I don't want to hear any explanations," said Lupin shortly. He glanced around the empty entrance hall and lowered his voice. "I happen to know this map was confiscated by Mr Filch many years ago." Ron, Hailey, and Mandy were amazed that he knew. "Yes, I know it's a map. I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, _astounded_ that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle laying around. And I can't let you have it back, Hailey."

Hailey expected that and wanted more explanations. "Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?"

"Because…" Lupin started and hesitated, "because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."

"Do you _know_ them?" Hailey asked.

"We've met," Lupin said shortly. He was no looking at Hailey more seriously than ever before. "Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Hailey. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Hailey. A poor way to repay them—gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks." He walked away.

Hailey was left feeling worse by far than she had at any point in Snape's office. Slowly, she, Ron, and Mandy mounted the marble staircase. As they passed the one-eyed, Hailey remembered that the Invisibility Cloak was still down there, but she didn't dare go and get it.

"It's my fault," said Ron abruptly. "I asked you to go. Lupin's right, it was stupid, we shouldn't've done it—" He broke off.

"Actually, I went along anyway," Hailey said as they reached the corridor where the security trolls were pacing. Hermione and Michael were walking towards them, both looking grave. One look at Hermione's face made Hailey wonder if Michael told Hermione about going to Hogsmeade.

"Come to have a good gloat?" asked Ron savagely as they stopped in front of them. "Or have you just been to tell on us?"

Michael had to do a double-take at the tone. "Er—"

"No," said Hermione. She was holding a letter in her hands and her lip was trembling. "We just thought you ought to know…"

"Buckbeak's going to be executed," Michael finished.

"He—he sent us this," Hermione said, holding out the letter.

Hailey took it. The parchment was damp and enormous teardrops had smudged the ink so badly in places that it was very difficult to read.

 _Dear Hermione and Michael,_

 _We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts.  
_ _Execution date to be fixed.  
_ _Beaky has enjoyed London.  
_ _I won't forget all the help you both gave us._

 _Hagrid_

"They can't do this," said Hailey. "They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous."

"Yeah," said Mandy. "Malfoy was the one who started it. He just hates having fun. He wants to destroy nice things! He's the reason why we can't have nice things!"

"Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it," said Hermione, wiping her eyes. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope…Nothing will have change."

"Yeah, it will," said Ron fiercely. "You two won't have to do all the work this time. I'll help."

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely. Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkwardly on the top of the head. Hailey looked at Michael, who seemed a little awkward too, like he didn't know what to do with a crying girl. Hermione drew away. "Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers…"she sobbed.

"Oh—well, he was old," said Ron, looking very relieved that she had let go of him. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now."

"After all that ranting and raving about Scabbers, he just stops holding a grudge?" Mandy whispered to Hailey, confused. "Just like that?" She snapped her fingers. Hailey nodded in agreement.


	15. The Quidditch Final

The safety measures imposed on the students since Black's second break-in made it impossible for Hailey, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael to visit Hagrid in the evenings. Their only chance of talking to him was during Care of Magical Creatures lessons, however he seemed numb with shock at the verdict.

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh looked up fer me. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em," Hagrid explained.

"There's still the appeal!" said Ron fiercely. "Don't give up yet, we're working on it!"

They walked back up to the castle with the rest of the class. Ahead, they could see Malfoy, who was walking with Crabbe and Goyle. The three Slytherins kept looking back and laughing derisively.

"S'no good, Ron," said Hagrid sadly as they reached the castle steps. "That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that…" He turned around and hurried back toward his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief.

"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy said loudly. He, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening. "Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic? And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

Mandy charged forward, "Why can't you let us have nice things, Malfoy?" Hailey and Michael grabbed at Mandy's robes. They didn't think that Hermione would get there first and slap Malfoy right across the face with all the strength the she could muster.

Malfoy staggered back, while Ron, Hailey, Michael, Mandy, Crabbe, and Goyle stood there, stunned as Hermione raised her hand again and said, "Don't you _dare_ call Hagrid pathetic, you foul—you evil—"

"Hermione!" said Ron weakly, and he tried to grab her hand as he swung it back.

"Get _off_ , Ron!" Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backward and Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instructions on what to do, thoroughly bewildered.

"C'mon," Malfoy muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons.

" _Hermione!_ " Ron said again, sounding both stunned and impressed. Hailey noticed that Michael was looking at Hermione in amazement and Hailey wondered what she had do to get him to look at her like that. But then again, he and Hermione were dating, so it's no surprise there.

Hermione turned to Hailey, "Hailey, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final! You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherins wins!" She sounded shrill.

"We're due in Charms," said Ron, still goggling at Hermione. "We'd better go."

"We really should get to History of Magic," Mandy said and they hurried up the marble staircase in different directions.

They did get to History of Magic late, but Professor Binns was still droning on, but he did manage to reprimand them for being late.

At lunch, Ron was grinning broadly from the Cheering Charms, but he told them that Hermione was next to him when they went to class, but she vanished. Hermione wasn't at lunch either.

"That's very odd," Mandy said, looking like she was thinking very hard. "Remind me to go to the library after class."

After lunch, Hermione didn't even show up.

"Did Malfoy do something to her?" Mandy asked, worried.

They hurried upstairs to the Gryffindor Tower. They passed the security trolls, where they gave the Ravenclaws suspicious looks over.

Ron gave the Fat Lady the password which was Flibbertigibbet, and they scrambled through the portrait hole into the common room.

Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep on this Arithmancy book. Hailey and Ron went to sit down on either side of her.

Mandy was looking around the Gryffindor common room and Hailey was reminded that the blonde never entered the common room before.

Hailey poked Hermione awake.

"Wh—what?" said Hermione, waking with a start and staring around wildly. "Is it time to go? W—which lesson have we got now?"

"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes," said Hailey. "Hermione, why didn't you go to Charms with Ron?"

"What? Oh, no!" Hermione squeaked. "I forgot to go to Charms!"

"But how could you forget?" asked Hailey. "You were with Ron till you were right outside the classroom!"

"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed. "Was Professor Flitwick angry? Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!"

"You know what, Hermione?" said Ron, looking down at the enormous Arthimancy book that Hermione had been using as a pillow. "I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much."

"No, I'm not!" said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She was staring hopelessly around for her bag. "I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry…I'll see you in Divination!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Hermione joined Mandy, Hailey, and Ron at the ladder to Professor Trelawney's classroom. She was looking extremely harassed and said, "I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms! And I bet they'll come up in our exams; Professor Flitwick hinted they might!"

Together they climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white mist. The four sat down together at the same rickety table.

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term." Ron muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in case she was lurking nearby.

Hailey responded, "Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry. I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my hands."

"Good day to you!" said the familiar, misty voice, and Professor Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows. Parvati and Lavender were shaking with excitement, their faces lit by the milky glow of their crystal balls.

"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned," said Professor Trelawney, sitting with her back to the fire and gazing around. "The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."

Hermione snorted and loudly said, "Well, honestly…'the fates have informed her'…who sets the exams? She does! What an amazing prediction!" Hailey, Mandy, and Ron choked back laughs.

It was hard to see if Professor Trelawney had heard or not, because her face was still hidden in shadow. She continued, "Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art. I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes—" Ron began to snigger uncontrollably and had to stuff his fist to his mouth to stifle the noise. Professor Trelawney continued, "—so as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of the class."

With that, the class began. Hailey felt extremely foolish staring blankly at the crystal ball, trying to keep her mind empty when thoughts such as "this is boring" kept popping in her mind. Ron breaking into silent giggles, Hermione tutting, and Mandy looking like she was going to topple over from falling asleep, wasn't helping matters.

"Seen anything yet?" Hailey asked after a quarter of an hour's quiet crystal gazing.

Ron pointed at the table and said, "Yeah, there's a burn on this table. Someone's spilled their candle."

"This is such a waste of time," Hermione hissed. "I could be practicing something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms—"

Professor Trelawney rustled past and over the clinking of her bangles, murmured, "Would anyone like to help them interrupt the shadowy portents within their Orb?"

"I don't need help," Ron whispered. "It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight." Hailey, Hermione, and Mandy busted out laughing.

"Now, really!" said Professor Trelawney as everyone's heads turned in their direction. Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized. "You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" Professor Trelawney approached the table and peered into their crystal ball.

Hailey felt herself growing annoyed, already knowing what was coming. Why did Professor Trelawney keep signaling her out like this? Why couldn't she bug someone else?

"There is something here!" Professor Trelawney whispered, lowering her face to the ball, so that it was reflecting her huge glasses. "Something moving…but what is it?"

Hailey would bet everything she owned, including the Firebolt, that whatever Professor Trelawney was going to say, it wasn't good news; even Mandy looked annoyed.

"My dear…" Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Hailey. "It is here, plainer than ever before…my dear, stalking toward you, growing closer…the G—"

"Oh, for _goodness'_ sake!" interrupted Hermione loudly. "Not that ridiculous Grim _again_!"

Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. Parvati whispered something Lavender, and they both glared at Hermione, too.

Professor Trelawney stood up, surveying Hermione with unmistakable anger. "I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my _dear_ , it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."

There was a moment's silence.

"Fine!" said Hermione suddenly, getting up and cramming _Unfogging the Future_ back into her bag. "Fine!" she repeated, swinging the bag over her shoulder and almost knocked Ron off his chair. "I give up! I'm leaving!"

To Hailey amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight. Hailey refrained from saying, "take me with you". The class erupted into amazed chatter.

"I can't believe that she did that," Mandy said.

It took a few minutes for the class to settle down again. Professor Trelawney seemed to have thankfully forgotten all about the Grim. She turned abruptly from Hailey, Ron, and Mandy's table, breathing rather heavily as tugged her gauzy shawl more closely to her.

"Ooh!" said Lavender suddenly, making everyone jump. "Ooh, Professor Trelawney, I've just remembered! You saw her leaving, didn't you? Didn't you, Professor? ' _Around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever!_ ' You said it _ages_ ago, Professor!"

"Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Miss Granger would be leaving us. One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken the Signs…The Inner Eye can be a burden, you know…"

Lavender and Parvati looked deeply inmpressed, and moved over so that Professor Trelawney could join their table instead

"Some day Hermione's having, eh?" Ron muttered to Hailey and Mandy, looking awed.

"Yeah…" Hailey responded, glancing into the crystal ball but saw nothing but swirling white mist. Had Professor Trelawney really seen the Grim again? Would she? The last thing she needed was another near-fatal accident, with the Quidditch final drawing nearer.

* * *

The Easter holidays weren't exactly relaxing. The third years had never had so much homework. Neville Longbottom seemed close to a nervous collapse, but his cousin, Colton Taylor, was trying to help him as best as he could.

Without Divination, Hermione was still taking more subjects than anybody else. According to Ron, Hermione was usually last to leave the common room at night and was the first to arrive at the library the next morning. She had shadows like Lupin's under her eyes and seemed constantly close to tears.

Mandy had once said to Hermione, "Are you okay? Do you like...need…coffee or something?"

Michael had taken over the responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal when he wasn't doing his own work. Ron and Mandy were trying to help.

Hailey was trying to help in between her homework and Quidditch practice, since the Ravenclaw-Slytherin match would take place on the first Saturday about the Easter holidays. Slytherin was leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points.

Ron looking over thick volumes like: _The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology_ and _Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hippogriff Brutality_. He was so absorbed; he even forgot to be horrible to Crookshanks.

The enmity between Hailey and Malfoy was at its highest point ever. Malfoy was still wounded over the mud-throwing incident in Hogsmeade and was even more furious that Hailey had somehow got of getting out of trouble. Hailey hadn't forgotten over Malfoy attempting to sabotage her in the match against Gryffindor. It was the matter of Buckbeak that made her more determined to beat Malfoy in front of the entire school.

By the time the holidays were over, tension between the two teams and their Houses was at the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors.

Hailey was having a particularly bad time of it since she couldn't walk to class without Slytherins sticking out their legs trying to trip her. Crabbe and Goyle kept popping up wherever she went and slouched away, disappointed, that she was surrounded by people. She really didn't want to know what those two had in mind. She wasn't entirely sure if they were willing to beat up a girl. Maybe they would've scared her enough to allow Cho to take her place.

* * *

The night before the match, Hailey slept badly. She couldn't exactly remember what she dreamt about, but she woke up feeling very thirsty. She got up to pour herself some water from the jug beneath the window.

She noticed that the grounds were still and quiet. The treetops looked still and the Whomping Willow was motionless and innocent-looking. She was sure that the match would take place in perfect weather.

She set the goblet down when she noticed an animal of some kind was prowling across the silvery lawn. She hoped that it wasn't the Grim. Not before the match—not now.

She spotted it again. It was skirting the edge of the forest now…Her heart was beating rapidly and she started to feel ill but realized that it wasn't the Grim at all but a cat. She felt all tension leave her when she saw that the cat had a bottlebrush tail…it was Crookshanks.

 _Damn cat,_ thought Hailey, annoyed. She watched as Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt and she saw something moving in the shadow of threes too.

A gigantic, shaggy black dog was moving stealthily across the lawn, with Crookshanks trotting at its side.

 _What?_ Hailey thought. _What does it mean? If Crookshanks can see the dog as well, then it shouldn't be an omen of death, right?_ Hailey considered waking up Mandy, but she decided to the let her sleep. She can bother her tomorrow about it.

* * *

The Ravenclaw team entered the Great Hall the next day to applause. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff side were clapping for them. However the Slytherin table hissed as they passed. Hailey couldn't help but notice that Malfoy looked even paler than usual.

The team ate some breakfast, before Roger Davies decided that it was time to get ready. As they started to leave the Great Hall, there was some applause.

"Good luck!" Malachi Lovelace called to them and Hailey nodded in acknowledgement. She still wanted to purposely ram into him in mid-air just to see what a mid-air collision would feel like. She knew that it would hurt like hell, but still.

Hailey was too nervous to remembered what happened next, but she when they emerged from the locker room, the crowd was waving blue flags with the Ravenclaw eagle on them or brandishing banners.

Behind the Slytherin goal posts, two hundred people were wearing green, the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snap sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else. He was smiling grimly and Hailey wondered why.

"And here are the Ravenclaws!" yelled Lee Jordan, doing commentary as usual. "Potter, Samuels, Inglebee, Bradley, Chambers, Page, and Davies. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years—"

The Slytherins booed loudly, drowning out Lee Jordan's comments. Hailey noticed that John and Nicholas were very pale.

"I think I'm going to be sick," John said.

"And here comes the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill—"

There were more boos from the Slytherin crowd. The Slytherin team were enormous and Malfoy was the only smallest person on the team.

"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.

Flint and Roger grasped each other's hands very tightly, looking like they were trying to break each other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" said Madam Hooch. "Three…two…one…"

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air.

Hailey felt her hair fly back, her nerves leaving her in the thrill of flying. She glanced around and saw Malfoy on her tail. She sped off in search of the Snitch.

"And it's Ravenclaw in possession, John Bradley of Ravenclaw with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts! Argh, no—Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field—" a Bludger was aimed at Warrington, "—nice Bludger work there by Duncan Inglebee, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by—Chambers, Ravenclaw back in possession, come on Nicholas—nice swerve around Montague— _duck, Nicholas, that's Bludger!_ —He scored! Ten-zero to Ravenclaw!"

Nicholas soared around the end of the field, the sea of blue below screaming in delight—

"Ouch!"

Nicholas was nearly thrown from his broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into him.

"Sorry!" said Flint, obviously lying, as the crowd below booed him. "Sorry, didn't see him!"

Hailey went to go check on him and a moment later, Jason Samuels, chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

"Sorry!" shouted Jason sarcastically. "It slipped out of my hand!"

"That will do!" shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them. "Penalty shot to Ravenclaw for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to _their_ Chaser!"

"It slipped out of my hand, Miss!" Jason said, obviously lying as well.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Nicholas flew forward to take the penalty.

The crowd went silent in anticipation. "Yes! He's beaten the Keeper! Twenty-zero to Ravenclaw!" Lee Jordan shouted.

Hailey turned to watch Flint, still bleeding from the nose to take the Slytherin penalty. Grant Page was hovering in front of the Ravenclaw goal posts. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and, "—He saved it!"

Relieved, Hailey zoomed away, gazing around for the Snitch and making sure she caught every word of Lee's commentary. She need to keep Malfoy off until Ravenclaw was more than fifty points up.

"Ravenclaw in possession, no Slytherin in possession—no!—Ravenclaw back in possession and it's John Bradley, John Bradley for Ravenclaw with the Quaffle, he's streaking up the field—that was deliberate!"

Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved right in front of John, and instead of grabbing the Quaffle, grabbed his head, making John do some sort of cartwheel in the air, but he still held onto his broom. However, John dropped the Quaffle, to hold onto his broom.

Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, John had put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper.

Hailey couldn't help but think that it was like the Slytherins wanted to lose, with the way they were cheating. Or maybe they were cheating because they were trying to keep the game going just to give Malfoy more time to find the Snitch.

Lee Jordan said, "Thirty-zero! Take that, you dirty, cheating—"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way—!" Professor McGonagall interrupted.

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!" Lee Jordan replied, trying to defend himself.

Hailey noticed the Snitch shimmering at the foot of one of the Ravenclaw goal posts—but she mustn't catch it yet—and yet, if Malfoy saw it—

Hailey faked a look of sudden concentration, and pulled the Firebolt around and sped off toward the Slytherin end—it worked. Malfoy went zooming after her, clearly thinking that she had seen the Snitch there…

One of the Bludgers came streaking past Hailey's right ear, hit by the gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick, and the second Beater grazed Hailey's elbow, which was hit at her by the other beater, Bole.

Derrick and Bole were now closing in on her. She noticed that the two Slytherins had their clubs raised. She turned the Firebolt upward at the last second, and the two Slytherins collided with a sickening crunch.

 _On second thought_ , Hailey thought, _I probably shouldn't have a collision like that._

"Ha ha!" yelled Lee Jordan as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads. "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Ravenclaw in possession again, as Davies takes the Quaffle—Flint alongside him—poke him in the eye, Davies!—it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke—oh no—Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Ravenclaw goal posts, come on now Page, save—!"

Flint scored; there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.

Lee Jordan said, "Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Ravenclaw in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Ravenclaw in possession—"

Enraged that Ravenclaw had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were rapidly resorting to any means to take the Quaffle. Bole hit Nicholas Chambers with his club and tried to say that he'd thought that the second year was a Bludger. Duncan Inglebee elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalities and Grant Page had managed to make the save, making the score forty-ten to Ravenclaw.

The Snitch had disappeared again and Malfoy was still keeping close to Hailey as she soared over the match, looking around for it—once Ravenclaw was fifty pointed ahead—

Roger Davies scored. Fifty-ten. Nicholas and John were keeping an eye out in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge against him. Bole and Derrick took advantage of the Beaters' absence to aim both Bludgers at Grant Page, which he caught in the stomach, one after the other. He rolled in the air, clutching his broom, winded.

Madam Hooch was beside herself and shrieked at the two Slytherins. "You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area! Ravenclaw penalty!"

Nicholas Chambers scored. Sixty-ten. Moments later, Jason Samuels pelted a Bludger at Warrington, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; John Bradley seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal—seventy-ten.

The Ravenclaw crowd below was screaming itself hoarse—Ravenclaw was sixty points in the lead, and if Hailey caught the Snitch now, the Cup was theirs. Hailey could almost feel hundreds of eyes following her as she soared around the field, high above the rest of the game, with Malfoy speeding along behind her.

Hailey saw it the Snitch was sparkling twenty feet above Malfoy and put on a huge burst of speed, the wind was roaring in her ears, she stretched out her hand, but suddenly, the Firebolt was slowing down—

Horrified, she looked around to see that Malfoy had thrown himself forward, grabbing a hold of the Firebolt's tail, and was pulling it back.

Hailey was angry, "You little—" she wasn't sure what she said after that, but she hoped that it was scathing. She wanted to kick him repeatedly in the face with her combat boots, but she couldn't quite reach him—Malfoy was panting with the effort of holding onto the Firebolt, but his eyes were sparkling maliciously. He had achieved what he'd wanted to do—the Snitch had disappeared again.

"Penalty! Penalty to Ravenclaw! I've never seen such tactics!" Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.

"You cheating scum!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "You filthy, cheating b—"

Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off because she was actually shaking her finger in Malfoy's direction, her hat had fallen off, and she, too, was shouting furiously.

John Bradley took Ravenclaw's penalty, but he was angry that he missed by several feet. The Ravenclaw team was losing concentration due to frustration and the Slytherins were delighted, and spurred on to greater heights, due to Malfoy's foul.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal—Montague scores—" Lee groaned. "Seventy-twenty to Ravenclaw…"

Hailey was now marking Malfoy so closely that knees kept hitting each other. Hailey wasn't going to let Malfoy go anywhere near the Snitch…

"Get out of it, Potter!" Malfoy yelled in frustration as he tried to turn and found Hailey blocking him.

"Roger Davies gets the Quaffle for Ravenclaw, come on, Davies, come on!"

Hailey looked around. Every single Slytherin player about from Malfoy was streaking up the pitch towards Roger, including the Slytherin Keeper—they were all going to block him—

Hailey wheeled the Firebolt around, bent so low she laying flat along the handle, and kicked it forward. She shot towards the Slytherins like a bullet.

The Slytherins scattered as the Firebolt zoomed towards them; Roger's way was clear.

"He scores! Ravenclaw leads by eighty points to twenty!"

Hailey had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt in midair, reversed, and zoomed back into the middle of the field.

Malfoy was diving, a look of triumph on his face—there, a few feet above the grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer—

Hailey urged the Firebolt downward, but Malfoy was miles ahead—

"Go! Go! Go!" Hailey urged her broom. She was gaining on Malfoy—Hailey flattened herself to the broom handle as Bole sent a Bludger at her—she was at Malfoy's ankles—she was level—

Hailey threw herself forward, took both hands off the broom. She slapped Malfoy's arm out of way and—

"Yes!"

She pulled out of the dive, her hand in the air, and the stadium exploded in cheers. Hailey soared above the crowd, an odd ringing in her ears. The tiny golden ball was held tight in her fist, beating its wings hopelessly against her finger.

Roger was speeding toward her, he seized Hailey around the neck and hugged her. There were large thumps as she assumed Jason Samuels and Duncan Inglebee hit them. Nicholas Chambers, John Bradley, and Grant Page were shouting, " _We won! We won! We won! We won_!"

Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the team sank back down to earth.

Wave upon wave of blue supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the field. Hands were raining down on their backs. Hailey had a confused impression of noise and bodies pressing in on her. She and the rest of the team was hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd.

She saw Hagrid, "Yeh beat 'em, Hailey, yeh beat 'em! Wait till I tell Buckbeak!"

She saw Percy, jumping up and down, all dignity forgotten. Professor Flitwick was sobbing, wiping his eyes on an Ravenclaw flag. Fighting their way towards Hailey was Mandy, Michael, Ron, and Hermione. They were beaming at Hailey as she was taken to the stands where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup.

Roger passed Hailey the Cup, and as she lifted it into the air, Hailey felt that if there was a dementor around, she could've produced the world's best Patronus.

* * *

A/N: I'll admit, I got the "We won! We won! We won! We won!" part from the song Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) in the _Hamilton_ soundtrack.


	16. Professor Trelawney's Prediction

Hailey's euphoria at winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Ron, Hermione, and Mandy had hugged her after winning the Cup. Michael awkwardly shook Hailey's hand, which she suspected was him trying to avoid accidentally kissing her again.

She did noticed that it seemed like the weather seemed to be celebrating the win; June was approaching, the days became cloudless and sultry. All anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of ice pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

However, they couldn't because exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outsides, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to concentrating while wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. Fred and George Weasley had been spotted workingi; they were about to take their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to ente the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. According to Ron, Percy was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Hailey and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once. The three Ravenclaws where in the Gryffindor common room when they saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself. The first column read:

 _Monday_

 _9 o'clock, Arithmancy  
_ _9 o'clock, Transfiguration_

 _Lunch_

 _1 o'clock, Charms  
_ _1 o'clock, Ancient Runes_

"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to exploded when interrupted. "Er—are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" snapped Hermione, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

Michael snorted, "You're asking Hermione that question. You know, someone who seemingly manages to be in multiple classes at once, all year."

"There's no point asking how you're going to sit for two exams, right?" Mandy asked.

"Yes," said Hermione shortly. "Have any of you seen my copy of _Numerology and Grammatica?_ "

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed if for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron, but very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment around on her table, looking for the book. Just then, there was a rustle at the window and Hedwig fluttered through it, a note clutched tightly in her beak.

Hailey grabbed the envelope and opened it. "It's from Hagrid." She reread the letter, "Buckbeak's appeal—it's set for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," said Hermione, still looking everywhere for her Arithmancy book.

"And they're coming up here to do it," said Hailey, still reading the letter. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and—" she winced, "—and an executioner."

Hermione looked up startled. "They're bringing the executioner to the appeal! But that sounds as though they've already decided!"

"Yeah, it does," said Hailey slowly.

"They can't!" shouted Ron. "I've spent _ages_ reading up on stuff for him; they can't just ignore it all!"

Hailey had a horrible feeling that the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had their minds made up for it by Mr Malfoy.

"They will," Mandy said. "It's because the Malfoys don't want any of us to have nice things!"

Draco, who had been noticeably subdued since Ravenclaw's triumph in the Quidditch final, seemed to regain some of his old swagger over the next few days. From sneering comments Hailey overheard, Malfoy was certain Buckbeak was going to be killed, and seemed thoroughly pleased with himself for being the one to cause it. Hailey had to refrain from pulling a Dudley, by putting Malfoy in a headlock and making him feel pain. Every time Mandy saw Malfoy, Hailey, Ron, Hermione, and Michael had to hold her back from charging at Malfoy, while Mandy declared that she will rip his face off if they just let her at him.

The worst thing of it all, was that they couldn't see Hagrid because of the strict new security measures had not been lifted, and Hailey didn't dare retrieve her Invisibility Claok from below the one-eyed witch.

* * *

Exam week began and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The third years emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks they had been set, which had included turning a teapot into a tortoise. Hermione irritated the rest by fussing about how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was the least of everyone else's worries.

"Mine still had a spout for a tail, what a nightmare…"

"Were the tortoises _supposed_ to breathe steam?"

"It still had a willow-patterned shell, d'you think that'll count against me?"

After a hasty lunch, it was straight back upstairs for the Charms exam. Hermione had been right; Professor Flitwick did indeed test them on Cheering Charms. Hailey slightly overdid hers out of nerves and because Michael, who was partnering up with her, was distracting her by being there and looking so handsome by waiting patiently for the charm. Michael ended up in fits of hysterical laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for the charm to wear off.

After Michael had been led away, Hailey told Mandy about why she overdid the charm. Mandy, confused, asked, "How did you get distracted by Michael?"

Hailey shrugged, "I don't know. He was just standing there and I just got distracted."

"Yeah, but how? What was he doing? Making funny faces at you or…" Mandy trailed off.

"I think I fancy him," Hailey said.

Mandy stared and in a deadpan voice, said, "Oh, wow, I'm surprised."

Hailey was confused, "What?"

"You stare at him all the time," Mandy said. "And every time Ron brings up the idea that Hermione and Michael are dating, your mood nail polish turns green, which also means jealousy."

"I don't stare at him all the time," Hailey countered.

"Yes, you do. You stare at him like some type of creepy girl," Mandy said. "Even _Ron_ asked me why you stare at Michael all the time."

"Am I a bad person?" Hailey asked. "Am I a bad person for fancying my friend's boyfriend? That's a bad thing to do. I am a bad person."

"You're not," Mandy said. "As long as you don't flirt with him or anything of that sort, you'll be fine."

The charm took an hour to wear off and Michael was ready to perform the charm himself.

After diner, the students hurried back to the common rooms to study for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.

Hagrid presided over the Care of Magical Creatures exam the following morning with a very preoccupied air indeed. His heart didn't seem to be in it at all. He had provided a large tub of fresh flobberworms for the class and told them that to pass the test; their flobberworms had to still be alive at the end of one hour. The flobberworms flourished best if left to their own devices, it was the easiest exam any of them had ever taken, which also gave Hailey, Ron, Mandy, Michael, and Hermione plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.

"Beaky's getting' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretense of checking that Hailey's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long. But still…we'll know day after tomorrow—one way or the other—"

They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster. Hailey couldn't get her Confusing Concoction to thicken, and Snape standing watch with an air of vindictive pleasure, scribbled something that look suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before moving away.

Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower; History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Hailey scribbled everything that Florean Fortescue had ever told her about medieval witch-hunts, while wishing she could have had one of Fortescue's choco-nut sundaes with her in the stifling classroom. Wednesday's afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouse under a baking-hot sun; then back to the common room once more, with sunburnt necks, thinking longingly of this time next day when it would be all over.

Their second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a grindylow, cross a series of pothole fill of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new boggart.

"Excellent, Hailey," Lupin muttered as Hailey climbed out of the trunk, grinning. "Full marks."

Flushed with her success, Hailey hung around to watch Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael. Ron did very well until he reached the hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Mandy did well, until she reached the hinkypunk, which frustrated her enough to hex it. Michael seemed to do well, although he freaked out enough to escape the trunk, muttering something about kelpies.

Hermione also did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the boggart in it. After a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.

"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?

"P—P—Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. "Sh—she said I'd failed everything!"

It took a while to calm Hermione down. When at last she had regained a grip on herself, she, the three Ravenclaws, and Ron went back to the castle. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's boggart, but an argument was averted by the sight that met on the top of the steps.

Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing there staring out at the ground. He started at the sight of Hailey and said, "Hello there, Hailey! Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes," said Hailey. Hermione, Ron, and Michael stood awkwardly there, not being on speaking terms with Fudge. Hailey wasn't sure if Mandy was either.

"Lovely day," said Fudge, casting an eye over the lake. "Pity…pity…" He sighed deeply and looked down at Hailey. "I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Hailey. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron interrupted, stepping forward.

"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," said Fudge, looking curiously at Ron.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all!" said Ron stoutly. "The hippogriff might get off!"

"All Malfoy wants is for us not to have anything nice!" Mandy shouted at Fudge.

Before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the castle doors behind him. One was so ancient he appeared to be withering before their very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin black mustache. Hailey gathered that they were representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted towards Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this…Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?"

The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; Hailey looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb along the blade of a shining axe. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the entrance hall.

"Why'd you stop me?" demanded Ron angrily as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!"

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" said Hermione, but she too looked very upset. "As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak…"

Hailey could tell that Hermione didn't really believe what she was saying. All around them, people were talking excitedly as they ate their lunch, happily anticipating the end of the exams that afternoon, but the five were lost in worry about Hagrid and Buckbeak, didn't join in.

"I hate Malfoy so much. I just want to rip that smug look off of his face," Mandy said. "I don't understand why you all hold me back."

Hailey, Ron, and Mandy's last exam was Divination; Hermione's was Muggle Studies, and Michael's was Study of Ancient History. They walked up the marble staircase together. Hermione and Michael left them on the first floor, Hailey, Mandy, and Ron proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of their class were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.

"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed them as they went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of _Unfogging the Future_ open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "Have any of you ever seen _anything_ in a crystal balls?" He sounded unhappy.

"Nope," said Ron in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch and Hailey knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.

"Not really," Mandy admitted.

The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?" However, they all refused to say.

"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" squeaked Neville as he clambered back down the ladder toward Hailey, Ron, and Mandy, who had now reached the landing.

"That's convenient," snorted Ron. "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her," he pointed toward the trapdoor overhead, "she's a right old fraud."

"Yeah," said Hailey, looking at her own watch. It was now two o'clock. "Wish she'd hurry up…"

Mandy went ahead of them and when she came back, she looked disgruntled. "This is really stupid, I think I might drop this class."

Parvati came back down the ladder glowing with pride. "She says I've got all the markings of a true Seer. I saw _loads_ of stuff…Well good luck!" She hurried off down the spiral staircase toward Lavender.

"Ronald Weasley," said Professor Trelawney in her misty voice. Ron grimaced at Hailey and climbed the silver ladder out of sight.

Now it was just Hailey alone to be tests. She settled herself on the floor with her back against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny window. She was thinking about Hagrid and the appeal.

After twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder. Hailey stood up as she asked, "How'd it go?"

"Rubbish," said Ron. "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convince, though…"

"Meet you in the entrance hall," Hailey muttered as Professor Trelawney called her name.

The tower room was hotter than ever fore; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Hailey cough as she stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for her before a large crystal ball.

"Good day, my dear," Professor Trelawney said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb…Take your time, now…then tell me what you see within it…"

Hailey bent over the crystal ball and stared as hard as she could, willing it to show her something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened.

"Well?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?"

The heat was overpowering and Hailey's nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke that was wafting from the fire beside them. She thought of what Ron had just said, and decided to pretend that she sees something. She started, "Er—a dark shape…um…"

"What does it resemble?" whispered Professor Trelawney. "Think, now…"

Hailey thought about what to say and Buckbeak popped up, "A hippogriff."

"Indeed!" whispered Professor Trelawney, scribbling keenly on the parchment perched on upon her knees. "My girl, you may well be seeing the outcome of poor Hagrid's trouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look closer…Does the hippogriff appear to…have its head?"

"Yes," said Hailey firmly.

"Are you sure?" Professor Trelawney urged her. "Are you quite sure, dear? You don't see it writing on the ground, perhaps, and a shadowy figure raising an axe behind it?"

"No!" said Hailey beginning to feel ill.

"No blood? No weeping Hagrid?" Professor Trelawney prompted.

"No!" said Hailey again, wanting to leave the classroom. "It looks fine, it's—flying away…"

Professor Trelawney sighed. "Well, dear, I think we'll leave it there…A little disappointed…but I'm sure you did your best."

Relieved, Hailey got up, picked up her bag and turned to go.

" _It will happen tonight!"_ a loud, harsh voice spoke behind her.

Hailey turned around quickly to see that Professor Trelawey had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes looked unfocused and her mouth sagging. Hailey started, "S-sorry?"

Professor Trelawney didn't seem to have heard. Her eyes started to roll. Hailey stood there panicking, because Trelawney looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. Hailey hesitated, thinking of running to the hospital wing—

" _The dark lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight…before midnight…the servant…will set out…to rejoin…his master…_ " The harsh voice said, quite unlike Professor Trelawney's voice. Her head fell forward onto her chest and she made a grunting sort of noise. Hailey stood there, staring at her. Professor Trelawney's head snapped up again. "I'm so sorry, dear girl," she said dreamily, "the heat of the day you know…I drifted off for a moment…" Hailey stared at her. "Is there anything wrong, my dear?"

"You—you just told me that the—the Dark Lord's going to rise again…that his servant's going to go back to him…"

Professor Trelawney looked thoroughly startled. "The Dark Lord? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? My dear girl, that's hardly something to joke about…Rise again, indeed—"

Hailey was confused, "But you just said it! You said the Dark Lord—"

"I think you must have dozed off too, dear!" said Professor Trelawney. "I would certainly not presume to predict anything quite as far-fetched as _that_!"

Hailey climbed back down the ladder and the spiral staircase, wondering…had she just heard Professor Trelawney make a real prediction? Or had that been her idea of an impressive end to the test?

Five minutes later, Hailey was dashing down to the entrance hall, but she almost ran into her friends on their way to her. She ran up to them, "Professor Trelawney just told me—" She stopped when she noticed their grim faces.

"Buckbeak lost," said Ron weakly. "Hagrid's just sent this a few minutes ago."

Hagrid's note was dry this time, no tears had splattered it, yet his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was hardly legible.

 _Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset.  
_ _Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't you to see it._

 _Hagrid_

"We've got to," said Hailey. "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!"

"Sunset, thought," said Ron. "We'd never be allowed…'specially you, Hailey…"

Hailey looked down and ran her hand through her hair. "If we only had the Invisibility Cloak…"

"Where is it?" said Hermione.

Hailey told the Gryffindor where she left it. "…if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble."

"That's true," said Hermione. "If he sees _you_ …How do you open the witch's hump again?"

"You—you tap it and say, ' _Dissendium_ '," said Hailey. "But—"

Hermione walked away before Hailey could even finish her sentence.

"She hasn't gone to get it?" Ron asked, staring after her.

She had, because Hermione returned ten minutes later with the silvery cloak folded carefully underneath her robes.

"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately!" said Ron, astounded. "First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney—"

Hermione looked rather flattered. Hailey glanced at Michael, who looked back at her. She looked away, hoping that he didn't think she was being creepy.

* * *

They did go down to dinner with everybody else, but did not return to the towers afterward. Hailey had to cloak hidden down the front of her robes; but had to keep her arms folded to hide the lump. They hid out in an empty chamber off the entrance hall, listening until they were sure it was deserted. They heard a last pair of students hurrying across the hall and a door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door and whispered, "Okay, no one there—cloak on—"

Walking very close together so that nobody would see them or accidentally reveal a limb, they tiptoed across the hall and then walked down the stone steps into the grounds.

The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest.

"I hope…" Mandy whispered but trailed off.

The reached Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door. It took a minute for Hagrid to answer, but he looked wildly around for his visitors.

"It's us," Hailey whispered. "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we'll take it off."

"Yeh shouldn't have come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back and they stepped inside the hut. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Hailey pulled off the cloak.

Hagrid wasn't crying and he didn't throw himself upon their necks. He looked like a man who did not know where he was or what to do. This helplessness was worse to watch than tears. "Wan' some tea?" His great hands were shaking as he reached for the kettle.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" said Hermione hesitantly.

"I—I took him outside," said Hagrid, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an'—an' smell fresh air—before—" His hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor.

"I'll do it, Hagrid," said Hermione quickly, hurrying over and starting to clean up the mess.

"There's another one in the cupboard," Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Hailey looked at Ron, Mandy, and Michael, who looked back at her hopelessly.

Hailey looked back at Hagrid and asked, "Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" She sat down next to Hagrid. "Dumbledore—"

"He's tried," said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared. Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like…threatened 'em, I expect…an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's…but it'll be quick an' clean…an' I'll be beside him…" Hagrid swallowed and his eyes were darting all over the cabin, as though looking for some shred of hope or comfort. Mandy looked ill and Hagrid continued, "Dumbledore's gonna come down while it—while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter—ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore…"

Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. She straightened up with the new jug in her hands, fighting back tears. She said, "We'll stay with you too, Hagrid."

Hagrid shook his shaggy head. "Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don't want yeh watchin'. An'd yeh shouldn' be down here anyway…If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Hailey, yeh'll be in big trouble."

Tears were rolling down Hermione's cheeks, but she hid them from Hagrid. She was bustling around making tea. When she picked up the milk bottle to pour some in the jug, she let out a shriek. Mandy went over to see what was wrong.

"Ron! I—I don't believe it—it's _Scabbers_!" Hermione shrieked.

"He's still alive?" Mandy said in disbelief.

Ron gaped at them, "What are you two talking about?"

Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. Scabbers let out a frantic squeak and scrambled to get back inside, he came sliding out onto the table.

"Scabbers!" said Ron blankly. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?" He grabbed the struggling rat and held up him up to the light.

Scabbers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself.

"It's okay, Scabbers!" said Ron. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"

Michael seemed confused. "If Crookshanks didn't eat Scabbers, then where did that blood come from?"

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window. His normally ruddy face had gone the colour of parchment. "They're comin'…"

The five teens whipped around. A group of men was walking down the distant castle steps. In front was Albus Dumbledore, his silver bread gleaming in the dying sun. Next to him trotted Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old Committee member and the executioner, Macnair.

"Yeh gotta go," said Hagrid, trembling. "They mustn' find yeh here…Go now…"

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hermione picked up the cloak.

"I'll let yeh out the back way," said Hagrid.

They followed him to the door into his back garden. Hailey felt strangely unreal, and even more so when she saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening, because he turned his sharp head from side to side and pawed the ground nervously.

"It's okay, Beaky," said Harid softly. "It's okay…" He turned to the five teens. "Go on. Get goin'."

They didn't move.

Hermione started, "Hagrid, we can't—"

Hailey said, "We'll tell them what really happened—"

Mandy said, "Malfoy's a—"

Ron said, "They can't kill him—"

"Go!" said Hagrid fiercely. "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

They had no choice and as Hermione threw the cloak over them, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight. He said hoarsely, "Go quick, Don' listen…" He strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door.

Slowly, as if in a trance, they set off silently around Hagrid's house. They reached the other side right as the front door closed with a snap.

"Please, let's hurry," whispered Hermione. "I can't stand it, I can't bear it…"

Mandy was beginning to sniffle as they started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow. Ron stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, please, Ron," Hermione began.

Ron said, "It's Scabbers—he won't—stay put—" He was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was squeaking madly, twisting, and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand.

"He's gone feral," Michael whispered.

"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron," said Ron.

They heard a door open behind them and the sound of men talking.

"Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione rushed.

"Okay—Scabbers, stay _put_ —" Ron ordered.

They walked forward and Hailey tried not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them. She tried to focus on Mandy sniffling and Scabbers's squeaking.

Ron stopped again, "I can't hold him—Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us—"

The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

Hermione swayed on the spot and Hailey felt like she was going to be sick.

"They did it!" Hermione whispered. "I d—don't believe it—they did it!"


	17. Cat, Rat, and Dog

The five stood there transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. Mandy was sounding near tears, Scabbers was still squealing, and Michael looked paler than usual. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. There was a wild howling and Hailey muttered, "Hagrid." She made to turn back, but Michael and Hermione grabbed her arms, because Ron was still wrestling with his pet rat.

"We can't," said Ron, looking paper-white. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him…"

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven. "How—could—they? How _could_ they?"

"Let's go," Michael said.

Ron's teeth were now chattering as they set off back toward the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the cloak. The light was fading fast now and darkness was settling like a spell around them when they finally reached open ground.

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly and Ron came to a sudden halt, almost causing Michael to walk into him. Ron was trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still—ouch! He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute—"

Ron said, "He won't—stay—put—"

Scabbers was very terrified since he was writhing with a ll his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Mandy asked.

Hailey saw Crookshanks slinking toward them, his body low to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness. Hailey wasn't sure if Crookshanks can see them or was following the sound of Scabber's squeaks.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned, "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!" The cat was getting nearer.

Ron shouted, "Scabbers—no!"

The rat slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him, and Ron thrown the Invisibility Cloak off of himself and ran away into the darkness, before anyone could stop him.

" _Ron_!" Hermione moaned.

The others looked at each other and then followed after Ron at a sprint. They had to pull the Invisibility Cloak off since it would've been impossible to run with it on. They could hear his feet thundering along ahead and him shouting at Crookshanks, "Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come _here_ —" There was a loud thud and, " _Gotcha_! Get off, you stinking cat—"

They almost fell over Ron, who was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron—come back—back under the cloak—" Hermione panted.

"Yeah, Dumbledore and the Minister—they'll be coming back—" Mandy started. "Does anyone else hear that?"

There was the soft pounding of gigantic paws running…bounding toward them, almost as quiet as a shadow—and then they saw an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

Hailey reached for her wand, but the dog had made an enormous leap and its front paws hit her on the chest. She fell over backward in a whirl of hair; there was a scream, and she felt its hot breath, saw inch-long teeth bared at her and—the dog rolled off of her. Dazed, and feeling like her ribs were broken, Hailey tried to stand up. She could hear the dog growling as it skidded around prepared to attack again.

Ron got to his feet and the dog sprang back toward them, but Michael pulled Hailey to the side, and somehow the dog's jaws fastened on Michael's arm. Hailey lunged forward, and grabbed a handful of the brute's fur trying to pull the dog off of her friend's arm, and Mandy chucked a rock at the dog, which hit the dog on the side. The dog released Michael's arm from either pain or surprise, and then it bounded, latching itself onto Ron's arm this time. Ron hit the ground from the sudden weight and the dog started dragging Ron away as easily as a rag doll. Hailey was going to run forward, but something hit her across the face, she was knocked off her feet again. She heard Hermione and Mandy shrieking with pain as they fell too.

"Holy—" Michael started but he also went down, cursing. He was holding his arm which was bleeding from the dog's bite. "Is this how it's going to be? I get covered in blood near the end of the school year?"

Hailey searched for her wand, and blinked blood out of her eyes, thankful that she still had an eye. She found it and said, " _Lumos_!"

The wandlight showed her the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer.

There, at the base of the trunk, was dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots—Ron was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight.

"Ron!" Hailey shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped through the air and she was forced backward again.

"How do—" Mandy started. She was holding her shoulder.

Hailey saw that one of Ron's legs was hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground, but there was a horrible crack like a gunshot, and Hailey knew that Ron's leg was broken. His foot vanished from sight.

"We've got to go for help—" Hermione gasped, she was bleeding because the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

Hailey found herself saying, "No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time—"

"We can't get through this damn thing without getting—" Michael said, but rolled out of the way off a branch that whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"We can get through it since that dog can," Mandy said. She got up, holding her shoulder and started running around, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but she couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree's blows.

Hermione was whispering frantically while dancing uncertainly on the spot. Crookshanks darted forward, slithering between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

The tree stopped moving as if it had been turned to marble.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. "How did he know—?"

"He's friends with that dog," said Hailey. "I've seen them together. Come on—and keep your wands out—"

The four covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slide into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Hailey went next, crawling forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Hailey's wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside her, then Mandy, and then Michael came afterwards.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione whispered, sounding terrified.

"This way," said Hailey, setting off, crouching over, following after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel even go?" Mandy asked.

"I don't know…It's marked on the Marauder's Map, but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it…It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade…"

"They never entered this tunnel?" Michael asked in disbelief.

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double, ahead of them, Crookshanks tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes…All Hailey could think of was Ron and what the enormous dog might be doing to him…She was drawing breath in sharp, painful gasps, running at a crouch…

Michael grunted and then muttered, "Stupid rock."

The tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, Hailey could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

They paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. They raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

"What happened here?" Mandy asked.

Hailey glanced at her friends. Hermione and Mandy were looking terrified. Michael was still looking a little pale. She pulled herself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Michael grabbed Hailey's arm. He whispered, "We're in the Shrieking Shack." He looked at a boarded up window.

Hailey looked around and noticed a wooden chair near them. Large chunks had been torn out of it; one of the legs had been ripped off entirely.

"Ghosts can't do that," Mandy whispered pointing at it.

There was a creak overhead and Hailey latched onto Michael's arm, startled. They looked up at the ceiling and Hailey quickly released Michael's arm. As quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs. Hailey swallowed, feeling ill again.

" _Nox_ ," they whispered and the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it. There was a low moan and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look and a last nod.

Wand held tightly before her, Hailey kicked the door wide open to see a magnificent four-posted bed with dusty hangings. Crookshanks was lying on the bed and purred loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at an odd angle, was Ron. They ran across the room to him.

Hermione asked, "Ron, are you okay?"

Mandy asked, "Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Hailey, it's a trap—"

Hailey was confused, "What—"

" _He's the dog…he's an Animagus_ …" Ron interrupted, staring at something over Hailey's shoulder.

Hailey turned around and with a snap; the man in the shadows closed the door behind him.

A mass of filthy, matted hair, hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. He point Ron's wand at them and croaked, " _Expelliarmus_!" Mandy, Hailey, Hermione, and Michael's wands shot out of their hands, flew high in the air, and Black caught them. He took a step closer, his eyes fixed on Hailey.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend." He sounded hoarse, like he had long since lost the habit of using his voice. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful…it will make everything much easier…"

The taunt about her father rang in Hailey's ears as though Black bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in Hailey's chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in her life, she wanted her wand back in her hand, not to defend herself, but to attack…to kill.

Hands grabbed at her, holding her back. She didn't realize she had started to walk forward.

"No, Hailey!" Hermione said in a petrified whisper.

"If you want to kill Hailey, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron said fiercely to Black, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of colour, and he swayed as he spoke.

Something flickered in Black's shadows eyes. "Lie down," he spoke quietly. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Hailey to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all five of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, grinning widely now.

"Why's that?" Hailey spat, trying to wrench herself free of her four friends. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew…What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Hailey! Be quiet!" Hermione whimpered.

"He killed my parents!" Hailey shouted, and with a huge effort, broke free of the restraint and lunged forward—

All Hailey knew was that she wanted to hurt Black as badly as she could and that she didn't care how much she got in return.

Black didn't raise the wands in time—one of Hailey's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away, and they fell backwards into the wall—

There was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Hailey's face by inches. Hailey felt the shrunken arm under her fingers twisting madly, but she clung on, trying to punch every part of Black she could find.

Black's free hand had found Hailey's throat and he hissed, "No, I've waited too long—"

The fingers tightened, Hailey choked and she saw Hermione's foot swing out of nowhere. Black let of Hailey with a grunt of pain, Ron thrown himself on Black's wand hand, there was a faint clatter, Mandy and Michael ran over, trying to do something that Hailey wasn't sure off as she fought to get out of the tussle, after seeing her own wand rolling across the floor. She ran for it, but Crookshanks had joined the fray, both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep in Hailey's arm.

Hailey threw the cat off, but Crookshanks darted toward Hailey's wand. "No you don't!" Hailey shouted and shoved the cat aside, causing Crookshanks to leap aside, spitting. Hailey grabbed the wand turned to the fight. "Get out of the way!" She ordered and the four scrambled out of the way. Michael, with a fresh wave of blood on his arm from where Black bite him in dog form and some scratches on his face, was trying to help a green-looking Ron up, was taking him to the bed. Hermione was gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled for the wands, and Mandy was holding her shoulder again, now had a bruise on her cheekbone.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Hailey walking slowly nearer, her wand pointed at Black's heart. "Going to kill me, Hailey?" he whispered.

Hailey stopped right above him, her wand still pointed at Black's chest, looked down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You killed my parents," said Hailey, her voice shaking slightly, but her wand hand was steady.

Black stared up at her with those sunken eyes and said quietly, "I don't deny it, but if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" Hailey repeated, a furious pounding in her ears. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said with a note of urgency in his voice. "You'll regret it if you don't. You don't understand…"

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Hailey, but her voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum…trying to stop Voldemort killing me…and you did that…you did it…"

Something ginger streaked past Hailey, Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart.

Mandy said, "The hell?"

Black blinked and looked down at Crookshanks. "Get off," he was trying to push Crookshanks off of him. Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Hailey and looked up at Hailey with yellow eyes. Hermione gave a dry sob.

Hailey stared down at Black and Crookshanks, her grip tightening on the wand. She had to kill the cat too, since it was in league with Black. It was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn't Hailey's business. If Black wanted to save it, it proved he cared more for Crookshanks than for Hailey's parents…She had to avenger her parents…this was her chance.

Hailey stood there, frozen, wand poised with Black staring up at her, Crookshanks on his chest. Ron's ragged breathing coming from the bed, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael silent.

There was muffled footsteps echoing up through the floor, someone was moving downstairs.

"We're up here!" Hermione screamed. "We're up here—Sirius Black— _quick_!"

"Two people also have broken bones!" Michael shouted.

Black made a startled movement that almost knocked Crookshanks off of his chest; Hailey gripped her wand and a voice in her heard said, _Do it now!_ The footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Hailey still didn't kill him.

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Hailey turned around as Professor Lupin came running into the room, his face white, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the bed, over to Hermione who was cowering next to the door, Mandy was sitting down but leaning against the bed, clutching her shoulder, to Michael who was standing in the corner, his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, and then to Hailey standing there with her wand pointed at Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Hailey's feet.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Lupin shouted and Hailey's wand flew out of her hand once again; so did the four wands that Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest.

Hailey stood there, feeling hollow. She hadn't done it. Her nerve had failed her. Black was going to be handed back to the dementors.

In a very tense voice, Lupin spoke, "Where is he, Sirius?"

Hailey looked quickly at Lupin, not understanding what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? She looked at Black again, whose face was expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all and then very slowly, he raised his hand and pointed at Ron.

Hailey glanced over at Ron, who looked bewildered, as she was feeling.

"But then…" Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently that it seemed like he was trying to read his mind, "…why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless," Lupin's eyes widened as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something the rest couldn't see, "—unless _he_ was the one…unless you switched…without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Is it me or is anyone else just as confused?" Mandy asked.

"Professor," Hailey interrupted loudly, "what's going on—?" Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Black and walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. Hermione had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. "You—you—"

Lupin started, "Hermione—"

"—you and him!" Hermione interrupted.

Lupin said, "Hermione, calm down—"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked and motioned to Mandy and Michael. "They found out on their own! We've been covering up for you—"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain—"

Hailey could feel herself shaking with a fresh wave of fury. "I trusted you and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now—Let me explain…"

"No!" Hermione screamed. "Hailey, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too— _he's a werewolf_!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale. He said, "Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione. Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Hailey dead…" An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped. " _Get away from me, werewolf!_ " Lupin stopped dead and Mandy got up. She went to Lupin, "It's okay. I still trust you." She looked at Michael, who nodded. "Michael still trusts you, too."

Lupin turned to Hermione, Mandy, and Michael, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…"

Lupin looked at Michael, who said, "Same."

Lupin turned to Mandy, who also nodded. "He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant…Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin turned to Michael and Mandy. "It was the lunar chart for me," Michael said.

Mandy nodded, "Same. My dad works for the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. So the symptoms connected. I just needed to see the lunar chart to realize it."

Lupin forced a laugh. "You three sure are clever."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff though so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard convince certain teacher that I'm trustworthy—"

"And he was wrong! You've been helping all the time!" Hailey shouted, pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-posted bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron got up and edged away from the both of them, dragging his leg.

"I have _not_ been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look—" He separated the wands, and threw each of them back to its owner. Hailey caught hers stunned. "There," Lupin stuck his own wand back into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Hailey wasn't sure what to think beyond, 'was this some sort of trick'. "If you haven't been helping him," Hailey said. "How did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in office examining it—"

"You know how to work it?" Hailey asked suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony—that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

Hailey was confused, "You _wrote_ —?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Michael, Mandy, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet. "You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Hailey—"

"How d'you know about the cloak?" Hailey asked.

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…" said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" said Hailey, "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Hailey's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" said Hailey.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled _Sirius Black_ …I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow—"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin, "Two of you." He stopped pacing, his eyes moving over Ron and said evenly, "Do you think I could have a lot at the rat?"

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

Ron hesistated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise. Lupin moved closer to Ron, seemingly holding his breath as he hazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

Ron, confused, said, "What d'you mean—of course he's a rat—"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."


	18. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of Black's statement to sink in.

"You're both mental," Ron accused

"Peter Pettigrew's _dead_!" said Hailey and pointed at Black, whose face was twitching erratically. " _He_ killed him twelve years ago!"

"I meant to," Black growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me…not this time, though!" Black lunged at Scabbers, throwing Crookshanks off in the process. Ron yelled with pain as Black landed on his broken leg.

"Sirius, no!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron. "Wait! You can't do it just like that—they need to understand—we've got to explain—"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.

"They've—got—a—right—to—know—everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Hailey—you owe Hailey the truth, Sirius!"

Mandy was giggling, "They're like my neighbour's children when they're fighting over on who get's to ride the bike."

Michael gave Mandy a odd look, probably thinking, "what the hell."

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"

"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking around at Hailey, Michael, Mandy, and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off." He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again.

Lupin pointed his wand at Scabbers, and said, "You're going to hear me out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"He's not Peter, he's Scabbers!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting to hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, but Hailey and Michael caught him and pushed back down to the bed.

Ignoring Black, Hailey turned to Lupin to say, "There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die. A whole street full of them…"

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

"Everyone though Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself—until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies…Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Hailey."

Hailey looked down at Ron and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently; Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all—but why was Lupin playing along with him?

"But Professor Lupin…Scabbers can't be Pettigrew…it just can't be true, you know it can't…" Hermione said in a trembling, would-be calm voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.

"It makes sense…" Mandy said. "Scabbers could be an Animagus…like Sirius's form is the black dog. But they have to be registered…"

"Yes," Hermione said. "They have to be registered…The Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become and their markings and things…and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Petttigrew's name wasn't on the list—"

Lupin started to laugh, "Right again, Hermione! But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagic running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right…but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin. "I only know how it began…"

There was a loud creak behind him and the bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All seven of them stared at it and Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing. "No one there…"

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted…The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." He pushed his graying hard out of his eyes.

"How do people confuse werewolf howls with ghosts?" Michael whispered confused.

"Then how did the door open?" Mandy asked confused.

Lupin ignored him as he seemed like he was thinking for a moment, then said, "That's where all of this starts—with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten…and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…" He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but it those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. Its makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform…I am able to curl up in office, a harmless world, and for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't have come to school…"

Lupin sighed and looked at Hailey, before he continued his story, "I told you months ago that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. This house," he looked miserably around the room, "the tunnel that leads to it—they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

Hailey wasn't entirely sure where the story was going, but she was listening raptly. Michael and Mandy were looking intrigued. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were—were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour…Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had even been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black…Peter Pettigrew…and, of course, you father, Hailey—James Potter.

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her…I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you three, worked out the truth…

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad too?" repeated Hailey, amazed.

"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animgus transformation can go horribly wrong—one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed…Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under the influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"That's so cool," Michael said, looking impressed.

"That's so sweet," Mandy said and looked at her friends. "If I ever become a werewolf, I want you all to become Animagi for me."

"Sure," Michael said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there…well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did…And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

Hailey started, "What sort of animal—?"

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?" Hermione interrupted.

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless—carried away with our own cleverness.

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course…he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventures. And I haven't changed…"

Lupin's face hardened and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. ButI didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me….and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwrts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it…so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching her as well." He looked up at the five teens. "Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons…you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me—"

Black made a derisive noise and he sneered, "It served him right. Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to…hoping he could get us expelled."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month," Lupin told the five teens. "We were in the same year, you know, and we—er—didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field…anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be—er—amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it—if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf—but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life…Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on, he knew what I was…"

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Hailey, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Servus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointed directly at Lupin.

"Are we ever going to get answers or is something going to constantly interrupt us?" Mandy whispered to Hailey.


	19. The Servant of Voldemort

Hermione screamed, Black leapt to his feet, and Hailey felt as though she'd received a huge electric shock.

"Oh, so that's why the door opened for no reason," Michael said. Hailey wondered if Michael either tried to figure out why the door opened on it's own or if he was listening to Lupin's story.

"I wonder how long was he standing there," Mandy said, sounding like she really did want to know.

Michael shrugged, "Probably for a few minutes."

Ron looked at the two, "What's wrong with you two? Really? What's wrong with you two?"

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, ignoring what Michael, Mandy, and Ron were saying. He threw the cloak aside, but he was careful to keep his wand pointed at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…"

Snape was slightly breathless, his eyes glittering, and said, "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here? I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did…lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

Lupin started, "Severus—"

Snape interrupted, "I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout—"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything—I can explain—Sirius is not here to kill Hailey—"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this. He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin…a _tame_ werewolf—"

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

There was a loud BANG and thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles. He overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. He had used the Incarcerous spell.

With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes. "Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. Hailey couldn't tell which face showed more hatred. She stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. She glanced around at Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael. Ron looked just as confused as she did; he was still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Mandy and Michael had went over to Lupin, and started struggling with the cords, trying to release him. Snape looked at them, "Leave him there." The two stopped what they were doing, but crouched there.

Hermione took an uncertain step toward Snape and in a very breathless voice, said, "Professor Snape—it—it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w—would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, Weasley, Corner, and Brocklehurst are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murdered and a werewolf. For once in your life, _hold your tongue_."

Hermione started to say, "But if—if there was a mistake—"

"Keep quiet, you stupid girl!" Snape shouted, suddenly looking mad. "Don't talk about what you don't understand!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face and Hermione fell silent. "Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled and jerked his head at Ron. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly…"

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very please to see you, Black….please enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…"

What little colour there was in Black's face left it. He croaked, "You—you've got to hear me out. The rat—look at the rat—"

There was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Hailey had never seen before, and she knew that Snape was beyond reason in his quest for vengeance. Snape said, "Come on, all of you. I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too—"

"That's a horrible thing to say," Mandy whispered.

"Hailey, what are you doing?" Michael asked and Hailey realized that she was now blocking the door.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin—"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Hailey said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape, "get out of the way, Potter."

"You're pathetic!" Hailey yelled. "Just because they made a fool of you at school you won't even listen—"

"Silence! I will not be spoken to like that!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like daughter, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black—now get out of the way, or I will _make you_. Get out of the way, Potter!"

Before Snape could take even one step toward her, Hailey had raised her wand and yelled, " _Expelliarmus_!" She wasn't the only one that shouted it.

There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slide down it to the floor. A trickle of blood oozed out from under his hair and Hailey knew that he had been knocked out.

Hailey looked around, noticing that Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Hailey. "You should have left him to me…"

Hailey avoided looking at Black's eyes, unsure if she really was doing the right thing.

"We attacked a teacher…we attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered, staring at Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble—"

"My parents are going to kill me five times over when I get home." Michael said staring at his wand in disbelief.

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them, and said, "Thank you, Hailey."

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Hailey told Lupin.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy—give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest and weakly said, "Come off it. Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on _Scabbers_? I mean…" He looked up at Mandy, Michael, Hermione, and Hailey for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat—there are millions of rats—how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was looked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How _did_ you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his clawlike hands inside his hands and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the _Daily Prophet_ the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page…on this boy's shoulder…I knew him at once…how many times had I seen him transform? And that caption said that boy would be going back to Hogwarts…to where Hailey was…"

"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw…"

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple…so _brilliant_ …he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself—and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…"

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

Ron said, "Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right—"

"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We—we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" shouted Ron, nodding towards Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

 _That's not right_ , Hailey thought, _Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks…ever since Ron's return from Egypt…since the time when Black had escaped_ …Hailey thought and before she can voice that, Black said hoarsely, "This cat isn't mad." He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever me. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't…so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me…As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table."

Hailey felt like her brain was overloading…it was absurd…and yet…

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it…" continued Black. "This cat—Crookshanks, did you call him?—told me Peter had left blood on the sheets. I supposed he bit himself…Well, faking his own death had worked once…"

The words jolted Hailey, "And why did he fake his death? Because he knew you were about to kill him like you kill my parents!"

"No," said Lupin, "Hailey—"

"And now you've come to finish him off!" Hailey interrupted.

"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Hailey shouted.

"Hailey," said Lupin hurriedly, "Don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down—but it was the other way around, don't you see? _Peter_ betrayed your mother and father—Sirius tracked _Peter_ down—"

"That's not true!" Hailey shouted. "He was their Secret-Keeper! He said so before you turned up. He said he killed them!" She pointed at Black, who shook his head slowly.

"Hailey…I as good as killed them," Black croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me…I'm to blame, I know it. The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies…I realized what Peter must've done…what I'd done…" His voice broke and he turned away.

"Enough of this," said Lupin. There was steely note in voice that Hailey never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, _give me that rat_."

"What are you going with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated.

"Just give him the damn rat already!" Mandy yelled and Ron held Scabbers out to Lupin, who took it. Scabbers began to squeak, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"Ready, Sirius?" asked Lupin.

Black retrieved Snape's wand from the bed and approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face. Quietly, he said, "Together?"

"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "One the count of three. One—two—three!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small grey form twisting madly, Ron yelled, and the rat fell, hitting the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then—

A head shoot upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting, and a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the fur on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Hailey and Hermione. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. Hailey saw his dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S—Sirius…R—Remus…" Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. Mandy and Michael both back up, blocking the door. "My friends…my old friends…"

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew. Lupin's voice was light and casual. "We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew and Hailey could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face. "You don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so—"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black and Hailey saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too. You've got to help, Remus…"

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fanthomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows, and again the only door, which was blocked off by Mandy and Michael. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"How did you know Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban since nobody has ever done it before?" Mandy asked.

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room. "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him. "What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't you blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius," muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.

"You haven't been hiding from _me_ for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter…They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them. I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them,. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information…and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter—"

"Don't know…what you're talking about…" said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this—this madness, Remus—"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban—the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted. "How dare you? I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter—I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us…me and Remus…and James."

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy…must be out of your mind…never…don't know how you can say such a—"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan…a bluff. Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you. It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly, Hailey caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy" but she couldn't help but pay more attention to the ashen colour of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door. Michael held up his wand, keeping an eye on Pettigrew.

"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can—can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.

"Well—Scabbers—I mean, this—this man—he's been sleeping at the Weasleys. When Hailey was there or slept in the Gryffindor common room, how come he never tried to hurt Hailey before now?"

"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Hailey's head? Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bull in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"

Pettigrew opened and closed his mouth several time. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Er—Mr Black—Sirius?" said Hermione.

Black jumped at being addressed and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.

"If you don't mind me asking, how—how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?" Hermione asked.

"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I—" He was silenced with a look from Lupin.

Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he was annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer. "I don't know how I did it. I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me…but it kept me sane and knowing who I am…helped me keep my powers…so when it all became…too much…I could transform in my cell…become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed, "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions…They could tell that my feelings were less—less human, less complex when I was a dog….but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…But then I saw Peter in that picture…I realized he was at Hogwarts with Hailey…perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…"

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though he was hypnotized.

"…ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies…and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Hailey, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours…So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"

Hailey remembered what Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley, "The guards say he's been talking in his sleep…always the same words…' _They're at Hogwarts_.'"

"It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it. It wasn't a happy feeling…it was an obsession…but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog…It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused…I was thin, very thin…thin enough to slip through the bars…I swam as a dog to the mainland…I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch Quidditch, of course." He looked at Hailey, who didn't look away. "You fly as well as your father did, Hailey…" He croaked, "Believe me, believe me, Hailey. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

It made sense why Black targeted the Gryffindor common room the second time, despite possibly knowing she was in Ravenclaw. Her throat too tight to speak, Hailey nodded, believing him.

"No!" Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as thought Hailey nodding have been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though he was praying. "Sirius—it's me…it's Peter…your friend…you wouldn't…"

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled. Black said, "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them."

Pettigrew turned to Lupin, "Remus! You don't believe this…wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" He looked over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing _you_ were the spy?"

"Of course," said Black, with a ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.

"You wouldn't…you won't…" gasped Peter and he scrambled around to Ron. "You won't let them do it…I was your rat…I was a good pet…"

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach.

Pettigrew turned on his knees, stagger forward, and seized the hem on Hermione's robes. "Sweet girl…clever girl…you—you won't let them…Help me…"

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away again the wall, looking horrified. Pettigrew turned to Mandy and Michael.

Mandy looked disgusted. "Don't come anywhere near me, because I swear I'll kick you in the face."

Michael nodded. "Yeah, what she said." He thought about something, "Although, I actually like to see that." Mandy stepped forward, as if prepared to kick Pettigrew in the face.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Hailey. "Hailey…Hailey…you look just like your mother…just like her…"

"How dare you speak to Hailey?" roared Black. "How dare you face her? How dare you talk about Lily in front of her?"

"Hailey," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward her, hands outstretched. Hailey took a step back. "Hailey, Lily wouldn't have wanted me killed…Lily would have understood, Hailey…she would have shown me mercy…"

Hailey didn't know what her mother would've wanted, since it was because of Pettigrew, that her parents died.

Black and Lupin stroe forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders and threw him backward onto the floor. He saw there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. In Hailey's opinion, it was horrible to watch. Pettigrew was like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord…you have no idea…he has weapons you can't imagine…I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you, Remus, and James. I never meant it to happen…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me—"

"Don't lie!" bellowed Black. "You'd been passing information to him for a year before Lily and James died! You were his spy!"

"He—he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh—what was there to be gained by refusing him!"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"Then you should have died!" roared Black. "Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with hands and turned to the wall. Mandy covered her face, by ducking it behind Michael's shoulder. Michael looked down.

"No!" Hailey yelled. She ran forward, placing herself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him, you can't." She was breathless.

The two men both looked staggered.

"Hailey, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him that your whole family."

"I know," Hailey panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors…He can go to Azkaban…but don't kill him."

"Hailey!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Hailey's knees. "You—thank you—it's more than I deserve—thank you—"

"Hey!" Michael and Mandy shouted, stepping forward.

"Get off me," Hailey spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off her in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because—I don't reckon my mum would've wanted them to become killers—just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other, and then they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Hailey," said Black. "But think…think what he did…"

"He can go to Azkaban," Hailey repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…"

Pettigrew was still wheezing behind her.

"Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Hailey." Hailey hesitated. "I'm going to tie him up. That's all, I swear."

Hailey stepped out of the way and thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this, and Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But it you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointed at Pettigrew too, "we _will_ kill you. You agree, Hailey?"

Hailey looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see her.

"Right," said Lupin, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing." He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, " _Ferula_." Bandages spun up on Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a split and, Lupin helped him to his feet.

Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince. "That's better. Thanks."

Lupin turned to Mandy.

"I'll be fine. It's just my collar bone," Mandy said.

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice. She was looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little—overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er—perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this…" He muttered, " _Mobilicorpus_." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrist, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe, "Just to make sure."

"And me," said Ron savagely, limping forward. Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set, seemingly taking Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

* * *

A/N: Just three more chapters to go and Year 3 will be completed.


	20. The Dementor's Kiss

Hailey wasn't entirely sure if she had been part of a stranger group before. Crookshanks was leading the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like they were participating in a six-legged race. After them went Professor Snape, held up by his own wand by Sirius, was drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as Sirius and Snape went down. Hailey, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael were bringing following along.

Getting back into the tunnel was difficult, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Hailey could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Hailey went after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling and Hailey had a feeling that Black wasn't making an effort to prevent it.

"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Hailey as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," said Hailey.

"Yes…" said Black. "But I'm also—I don't know if anyone ever told you—I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," said Hailey.

"Well…your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly, "If anything happened to them…"

Hailey waited with bated breath, wondering if Sirius was going where she thought he was going with it.

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But…well…think about it. Once my name's cleared…if you wanted a…a different…home…"

Hailey couldn't help but smile widely, "What—live with you?" She accidentally smacked her head on a bit of rock sticking from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"I think I hit my head on that same rock," Michael said.

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd—"

"Are you insane?" said Hailey, her voice a little shrill. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Black turned right around to look at her; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but didn't seem to care. "You want to? You mean it?'

"Yeah, I mean it!" said Hailey, smiling widely.

Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile that Hailey had seen. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Hailey's parents' wedding.

They didn't speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first, he must've put his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered out of the tunnel without any sound of the branches swinging. Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for the remaining four teens to pass through it. At last, all of them were out.

The grounds were dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Hailey was too ecstatic with thoughts of leaving the Dursleys. She was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend…She felt dazed…What would happen when she told the Dursleys she was going to live with that convict they'd seen on television…!

"One wrong move, Peter," said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

Silently they walked through the grounds, the castle lights slowly growing larger. Snape was still drifting oddly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest.

"Wait…today's a—" Michael said looking at the sky.

A cloud shifted and there were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly.

"Ah hell," Mandy said.

Black froze and threw his arm out to make the teens stop walking.

Hailey could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid and his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my—" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."

Hailey couldn't run. Ron was still chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. Hailey leapt forward, but Black caught her around the waist and threw her back. He said, "Leave it to me—run!"

There was a snarling noise. Lupin's head and body was lengthening. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's fur was on end again; he was backing away.

The werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Hailey's side, because he had transformed into the enormous bearlike dog. He bounded forward as the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it. The dog seized the werewolf about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. The dog and werewolf were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other—

Hermione screamed, alerting Hailey. Pettrigrew dived for Lupin's dropped wang. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell.

Among the snarling from the dog and werewolf fighting, there was a bang and a burst of light. Ron lay motionless on the ground and there was another bag, which caused Crookshanks to fly in the air and back to the earth in a heap.

" _Expelliarmus_!" Hailey yelled, pointing her own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!"

Mandy and Michael had their wands pointed at Pettigrew, as Hailey ran forward, but Pettigrew transformed. Hailey saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and hard a scurrying through the grass. Mandy and Michael started to search for Pettigrew. Michael dove to the ground, but Pettigrew outmaneuvered him. Mandy tripped and almost fell down.

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Hailey turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest—

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Hailey yelled.

Black was bleeding because there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but Hailey's words made Sirius scramble up again and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

The other four teens ran over to Ron.

"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.

"I think it's the Stunning Spell," Mandy said.

Hailey looked around desperately. Black and Lupin were both gone…they had no one but Snape for company, still hanging unconscious, in midair.

"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," said Hailey, pushing her hair out of her eyes, trying to think straight. "Come—"

They heard a yelping, whining: a dog in pain…it was beyond their range of vision.

"Sirius," Hailey muttered, staring into the darkness.

There was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black was in trouble—

Hailey set off at a run, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael behind her.

The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They ran for it, Hailey running flat out, feeling the cold, without realizing what it must mean—

The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why. Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head. " _No_ ," he moaned. " _No…please…_ "

Hailey saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. She spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating her insides, fog starting to obscure her vision, more were appearing out of the darkness on every side, they were encircling them…

"All of you, think of something happy!" Hailey yelled, raising her wand, blinking furiously to try and clear her vision, shaking her head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it—

 _I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys._ She thought, forcing herself to think of Black and only him, and began to chant, " _Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!_ "

Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.

 _He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him._ Hailey thought and said, " _Expecto patronum!_ Help me! _Expecto patronum!_ "

" _Expecto patronum_!" Mandy and Michael was yelling, but nothing was happening.

" _Expecto_ —" Hermione whispered, " _Expecto_ — _expecto_ —" She couldn't do it.

The dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall, around the four, and were getting closer…

" _Expecto patronum_!" Hailey, Mandy, and Michael were yelling. Hailey was trying to blot the screaming from her ears. " _Expecto patronum_!"

A thin wisp of silver escaped Hailey's wand and hovered like mist before her. At the same time, she felt her friends collapse. She was alone…completely alone…

"Expecto—expecto patronum—" Hailey felt her knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding her eyes. With a huge effort, she fought to remember—Sirius was innocent—innocent— _We'll be okay—I'm going to live with him—_

" _Expecto patronum_!" she gasped. By the feeble light of her formless Patronus, she saw a dementor half, very close to her. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Hailey had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.

"No— _no_ —" Hailey gasped. "He's innocent… _expecto—expecto patronum—_ " She could feel them watching her, hear their rattling breath like an evil around her. The nearest dementor seemed to be considering her. Then it raised both its rotting hands—and lowered its hood.

Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, grey scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth…a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.

A paralyzing terror filled Hailey so that she couldn't move or speak because her Patronus had flickered and died.

White fog was blinding her. She had to fight… _expecto patronum_ …she couldn't see…and in the distance, she heard the familiar screaming… _expecto patronum_ …she groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm…they weren't going to take him…

A pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attacked themselves around Hailey's neck. They were forcing her face upward. She could feel its breath. It was going to get rid of her first. She could feel its putrid breath. Her mother was screaming in her ears…She was going to be the last thing she ever heard—

Through the fog that was drowning her; she thought she saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter…She felt herself fall forward onto the grass…Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Hailey opened her eyes. The dementor must have released her. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around her…The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away…

Something was driving the dementors back. It was circling around her, Black, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael. They were leaving…The air was warm again…

With every once of strength she could muster, Hailey raised her head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake…Eyes blurred with sweat, Hailey tried to make out what it was…It was as bright as a unicorn…Fighting to stay conscious, Hailey watched it canter to a halt as it reached the opposite short. For a moment, Hailey saw, by its brightness, two figures welcoming it back…raising their hands to pat it…the two figures looked strangely familiar…but it couldn't be…

Hailey didn't understand. She couldn't think anymore. She felt the last of her strength leave her, and her head hit the ground as she fainted.


	21. Secrets Revealed

"Shocking business…shocking…miracle none of them died…never heard the like…by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape…" Fudge's voice said.

"Thank you, Minister," Snape replied.

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wrangle it!" Fudge said.

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister," Snape replied, sounding smug.

"Nasty cut you've got there…Black's work, I suppose?" Fudge asked.

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, Granger, Brocklehurst, and Corner, Minister…" Snape answered.

" _No!_ " Fudge replied, stunned.

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behaviour. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape…" Snape explained, "They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now…I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves…and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster—"

"Ah, well, Snape…Hailey Potter, you know…we've all got a bit of a blind spot where she's concerned," Fudge replied.

"And yet—it is good for her to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat her like any other student. And any other student would be suspended—at the very lease—for leading their friends into such danger," Snape said, "Consider, Minister—against all school rules—after all the precautions put in place for her protection—out-of—bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer—and I have reason to believe she has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too—"

"Well, well…we shall see, Snape, we shall see…the girl has undoubtedly been foolish…" Fudge replied.

Hailey lay listening with her eyes tightly shut and feeling very groggy. The words she was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from her ears to her brain, so that it was difficult to understand…Her limbs felt like lead; her eyelids too heavy to lift…She wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever…

"What amazes me most is the behaviour of the dementors…you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?" Fudge asked.

"No, Minister…by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances…" Snape answered.

"Extraordinary," Fudge said, "And yet Black, Hailey, the girls, and the boy—"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all straight back to the castle," Snape explained.

There was a pause. Hailey's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of her stomach…She opened her eyes. She was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, she could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to Hailey, bending over a bed. Hailey squinted and saw Ron's red hair was visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.

Hailey moved her head over on the pillow. In the bed to her right lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open too. She looked petrified and when she saw that Hailey was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.

Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Hailey's bed. She turned to look at her. She was carrying the largest block of chocolate she had ever seen in her life. It looked like a small boulder and she was sure that Dudley would've eaten all of it by himself.

"Ah, you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Hailey's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer.

"How's Ron?" asked Hailey and Hermione together.

"And Michael and Mandy?" Hailey added.

"They'll live," said Madam Pomfrey grimly. "As for you two…you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're—Potter, what you think you're doing?"

Hailey was sitting up and picking up her wand. "I need to see the headmaster."

"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now—"

"What?" Hailey shouted and jumped out of bed. Hermione and Michael, from the bed on the other side of Hermione's bed, had jumped up.

Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward, hearing Hailey's shout from the corridor.

"Hailey, Hailey,what's this?" said Fudge looking agitated. "You should be in bed—has she had any chocolate?" He sounded anxious.

"Minister, listen!" Hailey said, "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigreew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's—"

Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "Hailey, Hailey, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control…"

"You haven't!" Hailey yelled. "You've got the wrong man!"

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said, hurrying to Hailey's side. She was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and—" Michael was nodding in agreement.

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, the three of them…Black's done a very good job on them…"

"We're not Confunded!" Hailey yelled, agitated.

"Minister! Professor!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and she should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Hailey said furiously. "If they'd just listen—"

Madam Pomfrey stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Hailey's mouth. Hailey choked and Madam Pomfrey seized the opportunity to force her back onto the bed. "Now, _please_ , Minister, these children need care. Please leave—"

The door opened again and this time it was Dumbledore. Hailey swallowed the mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again. She said, "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black—"

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist—"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Miss Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr Corner," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black—"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat and Pettigrew being alive—"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" said Hermione earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear—"

"Miss Granger, hold your tongue!" Snape yelled at her.

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances—"

"I would like to speak to Hailey, Hermione, and Michael alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy—please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest—"

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her.

Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat. "The dementors should have arrived by now. I'll go and meet them. Dunbledore, I'll see you upstairs." He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snnpe whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak to Hailey, Hermione, and Michael alone," Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step toward Dumbledore, "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen. You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill _me_?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to the three teens. They burst into speech at the same time.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth—we _saw_ Pettigrew—"

"—he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf—"

"—he's a rat—"

"—Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off—"

"—Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius—"

Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations. "It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word-and the word of three thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

Unable to stop herself, Hailey started, "Professor Lupin can tell you—"

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything," Dumbledore interrupted. "By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little—and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends—"

Hailey started, "But—"

" _Listen to me, Hailey_. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events if far more convincing than yours," Dumbledore stated.

"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him—"

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady—entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife—without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."

"But do you believe that we're telling the truth?" Michael asked.

"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic…"

"Veritaserum," Michael said. "No, wait. Never mind. That will take a while to brew and it's already too late."

Hailey stared up into the grave face and felt as though the ground beneath him were falling sharply away. She had grown used to the idea that Dumbledore could solve anything. She had expected Dumbledore to pull some amazing solution out of the air. No…their last hope was gone.

"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly and his light blue eyes moved from Hailey to Hermione, "is more _time_."

"But—" Hermione began and then her eyes widened. "Oh!"

"Now, pay attention," said Dumbledore, speaking very low and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, the three of you: _you must not be seen_. Miss Granger, you know the law—you know what is at stake… _You—must—not—be—seen_."

Hailey didn't have a clue what was going on. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is—" He consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Hailey repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling a very long, very fine god chain. "Hailey, Michael, come here," she said. " _Quick_!"

Hailey moved toward her, completely bewildered. Hermione was holding the chain out and Hailey saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.

"Here," Hermione said, throwing the chair around Hailey and Michael's necks. Michael seemed to understand what was going on.

"What are we doing?" Hailey asked, completely lost.

Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.

The dark ward dissolved and Hailey had the sensation that she was flying very fast, backwards. A blur of colours and shapes rushed past her, her ears were pounding, she tried to yell but couldn't hear her own voice—she felt solid ground beneath her feet, and everything came into focus again.

She was standing in the deserted entrance hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. She looked wildly around at Hermione and Michael, to the chain of the hourglass cutting into her neck. She wasn't sure why Michael seemed to be so calm about it. "What—?"

"In here!" Hermione seized Hailey and Michael's arms, dragging them across the hall to the door of a broom closet. She opened it and pushed them inside among the buckets and mops, and then she slammed the door behind them.

Hailey was still confused, "What—how—Hermione, Michael, what happened?"

"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off of Hailey's neck in the dark. "Three hours back…"

Hailey found her leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a lot, which ruled out that she was having a bizarre dream. "But—"

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think—I think it might be us!" Hermione said with her ear pressed against the cupboard door. "Footsteps across the hall…yes, I think it's us going to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?" Hailey whispered.

"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still pressed to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us. It doesn't sound like ore than five people…and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak—" She trailed, still listening. "We've gone down the front steps…" She sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious.

Hailey wanted a few questions answered. "Where did you _get_ that hourglass thing?"

"It's called a Time-Turner," Hermione whispered, "and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model students, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies…I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But…Hailey, Michael, _I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do._ Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

Hailey and Michael stared at her shadowy face.

"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change," Hailey said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago…"

"We're in three hours ago," Michael said. "That was a odd thing to say…"

"We _are_ walking down to Hagrid's," said Hermione. "We just heard ourselves leaving…"

Hailey frowned, although she felt like she was screwing up her brain in concentration. "Dumbledore just said—just said we could save more than one innocent life…" It hit her.

"We're going to save Buckbeak!" Hailey and Michael said together.

"But—how will that help Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore told us that Sirius is in Professor Flitwick's office, which is on the seventh floor and thirteenth window from the West Tower," Michael said.

"We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak—they can escape together!" Hailey said. From what she can see of Hermione's shadowy face, she looked terrified.

Hermione said, "If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"

"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" said Hailey. She pressed her ear against the door. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there…Come on, let's go…" She pushed the door open and saw that the entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold.

"If anyone's looking out of the window—" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.

"We'll just run like hell," said Michael.

Hailey nodded and said, "Straight into the forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout—"

"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses," said Hermione breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

Hailey set off at a sprint, Hermione and Michael behind her. They ran across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouse, paused for a moment behind them, then ran off again, as fast as they could, running around the Whomping Willow, running toward the shelter of the forest…

Safe in the shadows of the trees, Hailey turned around, seconds later Hermione and Michael arrived, breathing heavily.

"Right," Hermione gasped. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's…Keep out of sight, Hailey…"

They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hailey was aware that Michael had chose to look out right above her. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked.

Hailey heard her own voice say, "It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered and he stood back, then shut the door quickly.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," said Hailey fervently.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.

"Now?" Hailey whispered.

"No!" said Hermione. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"

"That's going to give us about a minute," said Hailey, thinking that it was starting to seem impossible.

There was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"Okay, that's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Michael said. "Hermione will find Peter in a moment—"

In a few minutes, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise. Hailey considered the idea of running in and grabbing Pettigrew, but if her past-self saw her, there was a very good chance that her past-self would think that she was going mad or think that's there some serious Dark Magic going on. That and there was the possibility that her past-self and her friends would attack her if she did burst in there. She looked at Michael. "Wait, why are you so calm about this?"

"He found out by accident," Hermione admitted. "He promised that he wouldn't tell, so he's been keeping it quiet all year."

"That makes a lot of sense. Mandy, Ron, and I were thinking that you two were secretly dating," Hailey admitted.

Hermione and Michael looked at her.

" _Gross_ ," Michael said and looked at Hermione, "No offense."

Hermione pointed towards the castle. Hailey and Michael looked at the distant front doors. Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione said.

Sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back down opened, and Hailey herself, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael walking out of it with Hagrid. It was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of her life, standing behind the tree, and watching herself in the pumpkins.

"It's okay, Beaky, it's okay…" Hagrid said to Buckbeak, then he turned to Hailey, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael. "Go on. Get goin'."

"Hagrid, we can't—"

"We'll tell them what really happened—"

"Malfoy's a—"

"They can't kill him—"

"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

Hailey watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the Invisibility Cloak around her past self and her friends.

"Go quick. Don' listen…"

There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived and Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Hailey watched the grass flatten in patch all around the cabin and heard five pairs of feet retreating. Their past selves had gone…but the Hailey, Hermione, and Michael, still hiding in the trees could hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out—outside," Hagrid croaked.

Hailey pulled her head out of sight as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window.

"We—er—have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure—" Fudge said.

Hailey looked and saw that Macnair's face vanished from the window. She knew it was now or never. "Let's go." As Fudge started talking again, Hailey, Michael, and Hermione ran out from behind her tree and climbed over the fence into the pumpkin patch. Hailey approached Buckbeak.

" _It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown_ —"

Hailey stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eyes, trying not to blink, and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again, as Michael and Hermione tried to untangle the knot of rope that tied Buckbeak to the fence.

"… _sentenced o execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair…"_

"Come on, Buckbeak," Hailey murmured, "come on, we're going to help you. Quietly…quietly…"

"… _as witnessed below_. Hagrid, you sign here…"

Hailey, Michael, and Hermione tugged the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet.

"Well, let's get this over with," said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside—"

"No, I—I wan' ter be with him…I don' wan' him ter be alone—" Hagrid interrupted.

Footsteps echoed from within the cabin. Michael dropped the rope and found a bucket.

" _Buckbeak, move!_ " Haily ordered.

Michael dangled a dead pheasant in front of Buckbeak, and the hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They started to lead to the hippogriff to the forest, slowly. They were ten feet from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.

"One, moment, please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too." The footsteps stopped, Hermione and Hailey heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak and started walking a little faster.

Michael found a bucket of dead pheasants and dangled one out, trying to lure Buckbeak to the forest with food. They could hear Dumbledore still talking from within the cabin. Hailey gave the rope a tug and Buckbeak started to break out into a grudging trot. They finally reached the trees and Michael gave Buckbeak the dead pheasants. Hailey looked over her shoulder to see that they were now blocked from sight, since they couldn't see Hagrid's garden now.

Hailey whispered, "Stop, they might hear us—"

The door opened with a bang and they stood quite still, even Buckbeak seemed to be listening intently.

There was a silence.

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"

"It was tied here!" said Macnair furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore with a note of amusement in his voice.

"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.

There was a swishing noise and the thud of an axe. The executioner must have swung it right into the fence out of anger. Hagrid started howling, but Hailey could hear words through his sobs, "Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's _gone_! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"

Buckbeak started to strain against the ropes, trying to get back to Hagrid. Hailey and Hermione tightened their hold on the rope, digging their heels into the forest floor to stop him.

"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest—"

"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stole, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" said Dumbledore, sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will…Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

"O'—o' course, Professor," said Hagrid, who sounded weak with happiness. "Come in, come in…"

The three listened closely to the footsteps, the soft cursing from Macnair, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.

"I guess we have to wait and hide in here," Michael said.

"We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours…Oh; this is going to be difficult…" She looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was beginning to set, once again.

Michael said, "More difficult than us having to steal a hippogriff in one minute? The hardest part is waiting for a few hours."

"We're going to have to move. We've got to able to see the Whomping Willow or we won't know what's going on," Hailey said, thinking very hard.

"Okay, but we've got to keep out of sight, Hailey, remember…" Hermione said, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope.

They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the willow.

"There's Ron!" Hailey said.

A dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout echoed through the still night air, "Get away from him—get away—Scabbers, come _here_ —"

They saw four more figures appear out of nowhere. Hailey watched her past-self, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael chase after Ron. She saw Ron dive, " _Gotcha_! Get off, you stinking cat—"

"There's Sirius," said Hailey. The great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow and they saw him bowl Hailey over, rolled over, charged again, but Michael grabbed Hailey's arm, but the dog seized his arm. Mandy threw a rock at the dog, which caused it to release Michael's arm, then seized Ron.

"Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" asked Hailey, watching the dog pull Ron into the roots. She saw a branch of the Willow hit her past self in the face, "Ouch—look. I just got hit in the face by the tree— and so did you two." She saw a branch hit Mandy in the left shoulder and a branch hit Michael in the stomach. "This is so _weird_."

The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches and they could see themselves running around, trying to reach the trunk and then the tree froze.

"There was Crookshanks pressing the knot," said Hermione.

"There we go," Michael said.

The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. They heard footsteps close by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" said Hermione. "If _only_ Dumbledore had come with us…"

"The others would've come too," said Michael. "I'm pretty sure Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius as soon as they saw him…"

They watch as the four men climbed the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes, everything was deserted and they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and headed straight to the Willow. Hailey looked up at the sky to see clouds blocking the moon from view. They watched Lupin grab a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting and Lupin too disappeared into the gap in its roots.

"If he'd only grabbed the cloak, it's just lying there…" Hailey said. "If I just ran out now and grab it, Snape would never be able to get it and—"

"No, we can't be seen!" Michael said, grabbing Hailey's arm, just in case Hailey ran out and grabbed the cloak.

They heard Hagrid singing at the top of his voice and swaying slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.

" _See? See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight!"_ Hermione whispered. The hippogriff started making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid, " _No Buckbeak_!" She grabbed the rope and strained to hold Buckbeak back. Hailey and Michael grabbed the rope. They watched as Hagrid tipsily made his was up to the castle.

"I said, 'If'. I wasn't actually going to do it," Hailey said, straining to hold Buckbeak back.

"Yeah, but knowing you, you probably would have done it," Michael said, straining as well.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hailey asked, affronted.

Hagrid was gone and Buckbeak stopped fighting and his head drooped sadly. Michael patted the hippogriff trying to comfort him and said, "You constantly run into danger without—"

"Stop flirting, here comes Snape," Hermione interrupted, causing Hailey to blush. She ducked her head so Michael wouldn't see.

Snape came charging out of the castle doors, towards the Willow. They watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.

"Don't touch that. Get your hands off of it," Hailey muttered under her breath.

"Shh," Michael said.

Hailey looked at him, ready to tell him not shush her, but she couldn't. Snape grabbed the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"So that's it," said Hermione quietly. "We're all down there…and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again…" She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree. She sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees. "There's something I don't understand. Why didn't the dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming and then I think I passed out…there were so many of them…"

She sat down too and explained what she had seen; how, as the nearest dementor had lowered its mouth to Hailey's, a silver thing had come galloping across the lake and forced the dementors to retreat. Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Hailey had finished. "But what was it?"

"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the dementors go," said Hailey. "A real Patronus. A powerful one."

"Who conjured it, then?" Michael asked.

Hailey didn't say anything. She was thinking back to the person she'd seen on the other bank of the lake. She knew who she thought it had been…but how _could_ it have been?"

"Did you see what they looked like?" Michael asked.

"Was it one of the teachers?" Hermione asked.

"No, they weren't a teacher," said Hailey.

"But they must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away…If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see—?"

"Yeah, I saw _themr_ ," said Hailey. "But…maybe I imagined it…I wasn't thinking straight…I passed our right afterward…"

" _Who do you think it was_?" Hermione asked.

"I think—" Hailey said, knowing how strange it was going to sound. "I think it was my parents." She looked at the ground, not wanting to see their expressions.

"Hailey, your parents's—well— _dead_ —" Hermione said quietly.

"I know that," said Hailey quickly.

"Maybe you saw their ghosts," said Michael.

"I don't know…no…they looked solid…" Hailey replied.

"So—" Michael stated.

"Maybe I was seeing things," said Hailey. "But…from what I could…it looked like them…I've got photos of them…" She didn't need to look up to see that they were looking at her like she was losing her mind. "I know it sounds crazy," she said flatly. She turned to look at Buckbeak, but she almost smacked her face into Michael's. Why he was sitting so close to her, she didn't know. She looked at Buckbeak, who had his face in the ground, looking for worms or something.

She was thinking about her parents' three friends. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs…maybe they had all been on the grounds tonight. Wormtail had reappeared this evening when everyone thought he was dead…Was it so impossible that her parents had done that same? Had she been seeing things across the lake? The figures had been too far away to see distinctly anyway.

The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione was sitting there, her face turned toward the Willow, waiting.

At least, after over an hour, and many games of noughts and crosses with Michael, Hailey looked up when Hermione whispered, "Here we come!"

They got to their feet and Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew climbing awkwardly out of the hole in the roots, then Hermione and Mandy…the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upwards. Next was Hailey and Black, and then lastly Michael. They all began to walk to the castle.

Hailey's heard was starting to beat very fast and she looked up at the sky. Any moment, the cloud was going to move aside and show the moon…

"Hailey," Michael said. "We've got to stay put. We can't be seen…"

"I know that!" Hailey snapped, agitated. "I'm just preparing myself for Lupin to change." She looked up at the sky and, waiting for the cloud to move…It did and they saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. They saw movement.

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming—"

"We should get out of here," Michael said.

Hermione agitated, said, "We mustn't be seen, you—"

"Lupin's going to run right into the forest, right at us!" Hailey said, untying Buckbeak.

Hermione gasped. "Quick! Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment—"

"Hagrid's! It's empty!" Michael said.

"Come on!" Hailey said. They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them…

The cabin was in sight. Hailey stopped at the door, wrenched it open, and the others flashed past her. Hailey ran in after them and bolted the door. Fang the board barked loudly at the intrusion.

"Fang, be quiet. It's us!" Michael said, hurrying over to pat Fang to keep him quiet.

"That was really close!" Hermione said.

"Yeah…" Hailey agreed, looking out the window. It was much harder to see what was happening from there. Buckbeak seemed happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.

"Do you think Dumbledore knew how to distract the Committee from executing Buckbeak?" Michael asked. "He told Macnair to sign the paper, which seemed to give us enough time to get to the forest, and it seems like he knew that Hagrid had to get drunk enough for him to leave his house, so we can hide in here…"

Hailey nodded, distracted by her thoughts of seeing her parents again. She said, "I think I'd better go outside again, you know. I can't see what's going on—we won't know when it's time—"

Hermione and Michael looked at her suspiciously.

"I'm not going to try and interfere," said Hailey quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

Hermione said, "Well…okay, then…we'll wait here with Buckbeak…but Hailey, be careful—there's a werewolf out there—and the dementors—"

Hailey stepped outside again and edged around the cabin. She could hear yelping in the distance. That meant the dementors were closing in on Sirius…She, Hermione, Michael, and Mandy would be running to him at any moment…

For stood in front of Hagrid's door. She knew that she couldn't be seen, but she wanted to know. She had to know what she had seen. There were the dementors, emerging out of the darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the lake…They were moving away from where Hailey stood, to the opposite bank. She wouldn't have to get near them…

Hailey began to run, thinking about her parents…if it really was them…she had to know, had to find out…

The lake was coming nearer and nearer, but there was no sign of anybody…On the opposite bank, she could see tiny glimmers of silver—her own attempts at a Patronus—

Someone grabbed her arm and she turned to see Michael. "I knew it," he said.

"Shh," Hailey said and saw a bush at the very edge of the water. She dragged Michael to it and ducked down, peering desperately through the leaves. On the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished. A terrified excitement shot through her—any moment now—

"Where are they?" Michael whispered.

"Any minute now," Hailey whispered back. No one came. Hailey raised her head to look at the circle of dementors across the lake. One of them was lowering its hood. It was time for the rescuer to appear—but no one was coming to help—

"Of course," Hailey whispered, realization dawning on her. She stepped out from behind the bush. She pulled out her wand.

Michael started, "What are—?"

"Expecto Patrnoum!" Hailey shouted.

A blinding, dazzling, silver animal came bursting out at the end of her wand. She squinted, trying to see what it looked like.

Michael had stood up to look. "Is that—?"

It was galloping silently away from them, across the black surface of the lake. They saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming dementors…Now it was galloping around the black shapes on the ground, and the dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness…They were gone.

The Patronus turned and cantered back towards them across the still surface of the water. It was a doe and it was shining brightly as the moon above…it was coming back to them.

It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Hailey and Michael with its large, silver eyes. Slowly it bowed its head and they reached out to touch its head, but it vanished. They heard hooves behind and they turned around, to see Hermione running towards them, dragging Buckbeak behind her. " _What did you two do?_ " she asked fiercely. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!" She looked at Michael, "And you said that you were going to keep her from doing something stupid!"

"I just saved all our lives…" Hailey said. "Get behind here—behind this bush—I'll explain."

Hermione listened to what just happened with her mouth open. "Did anyone see you two?"

"Yes, haven't you been listening? _I_ saw us, but I thought it was my parents. It's okay!"

"Hailey, I can't believe it…you conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That's very, _very_ advanced magic…"

"I knew I could do it this time," said Hailey, "because I'd already done it…Does that make sense?"

"I don't know—Look at Snape!" Hermione said.

They peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Hailey, Hermione, Mandy, Michael, and Black onto them. A sixth stretched, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Wand held out in front of him, the moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing…"

They waited, Hermione watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while Michael and Hailey picked up a game of noughts and crosses again. Buckbeak was bored and ferreting for worms again.

"D' you reckon he's up there yet?" asked Hailey, as Michael drew a line in the mud connecting his crosses on the board.

"Look!" Hermione whispered, "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

Hailey and Michael looked. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny was glinting off his belt.

"That's Macnair!" Michael said.

Hailey said, "He's going to get the dementors! This is it, you two—"

Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Michael gave her a leg up, then helped Hailey up too, right in front of Hermione. She pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it the other side of his collar like reins as Michael got on behind Hermione.

"Ready?" Hailey asked. "Hold on tight—" She nudged Buckbeak's side with her heels and the hippogriff soared straight into the dark air. Hailey gripped Buckbeak's flanks with her knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them. Hermione held onto Hailey's very tight around the waist.

"Oh, no—I don't like this—oh, I _really_ don't like this—" Hermione was muttering.

"This is a weird feeling," Michael was saying.

Hailey urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle…Hailey pulled hard on the left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Hailey was trying to count the windows flashing past.

"Thirteenth window from the right on the West Tower!" Michael shouted.

"I know!" Hailey shouted back and Buckbeak slowed down, "Whoa!" She pulled backward as hard as she could, without knocking Michael off the back of Buckbeak. They found themselves at a stop, Buckbeak beating his wings to remain airborne. "He's there!" Hailey said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. She reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings, she was able to tap sharply on the glass.

Black looked up and Hailey saw his jaw drop. Sirius leapt up from chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him and she took out her wand. Still holding onto the back of Hailey's robes with her left hand, said, " _Alohomora_!"

The window sprang open.

"How—how—?" Sirius said weakly, staring at the hippogriff in disbelief.

"Get on—there's not much time," said Hailey, holding onto Buckbeak on either side of sleek neck, to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here—the dementors are coming—Macnair's gone to get them."

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was a good thing that he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Michael.

"Is this very safe?" Michael asked.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Hailey, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower—come on!"

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and the three teens slid off of him at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Hailey said. "They'll reach Professor Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

"What happened to the other two? Ron and Mandy?" croaked Sirius.

"They're going to be okay. They're still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make them better. Quick—go—"

Black, however, stayed where he was and stared down at Hailey. "How can I ever thank—"

"Go!" Hailey, Hermione, and Michael shouted at the same time.

Black wheeled Buckback around, facing the open sky. "We'll see each other again. You are—truly your father's daughter, Hailey…" He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. The three jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more…The hippogriff took off into the air…He and his rider became small and smaller as Hailey gazed after them…then a cloud drifted across the moon…They were gone.

"Hailey!" Hermione tugged at Hailey's sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us—before Dumbledore locks the door—"

"Okay," said Hailey, taking her gaze from the sky, "Let's go…"

They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. When they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.

"…only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was aying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the _Daily Prophet_ that we've got him at last…I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape…and once young Hailey's back in her right mind, I expect she'll want to tell the _Prophet_ exactly how you saved her…"

Hailey gritted her teeth. She caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed Hailey, Michael, and Hermione's hiding place. Their footsteps died away. The three teens waited for a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direct. They went down two staircases, along a new corridor—then they heard a cackling ahead.

" _Peeves_!" Hailey muttered, grabbing Hermione's wrist and Michael's arm. "In here!" They ran inside a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, laughing his head off.

"Oh, he's horrible," whispered Hermione, her ear to the door.

"And annoying," Michael whispered, putting his ear to the door.

"I bet he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off Sirius…" Hermione said and checked her watch. "Three minutes, you two."

They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then excited the room and broke into a run again.

"Hermione—what'll happen—if we don't get back inside—before Dumbledore locks the door?" Hailey asked.

"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"

They reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entranced.

"I can hear Dumbledore talking," Michael said. "Come on!"

They crept along the corridor and the door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.

"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, they ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?"

"We did it!" answered Hailey, breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak."

Dumbledore beamed at them. "Well done. I think—" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too—get inside—I'll lock you in—"

The three slipped back inside the wing. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed, and Mandy, who sat up. She was confused and pointed, "How did you—" She put her hand to her forehead, "Of course. You have explaining to do."

The lock clicked behind them, Hermione tucked the Time-Turner back under her robes.

Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office. "Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was in a very bad mood. Hailey though it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. Hailey could hardly swallow, listening, nervous. As they took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them…

"What was that?" said Madam Pomfrey in alarm. Mandy was staring at the ceiling, eyes wide.

They could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door. "Really—they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

Hailey was trying to hear what the voices were saying and noticed that Michael looked like he was trying hard not to smile. They were drawing nearer—

"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out—"

"He didn't Disapparate!" Snape roared, now very close to the door. "You can't Apparate _or_ Disapparate inside this castle! This—has—something—to—with—Potter!"

Fudge said, "Severus—be reasonable—Hailey has been locked up—"

The door of the hospital wing burst open.

Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore looked calm and looked as though he quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry, but Snape was beside himself.

"Out with it Potter!" Snape bellowed. "What did you do?"

"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw—"

"They helped him escape, I know it!" Snape howled, pointing at Hailey, Hermione, Mandy, and Michael. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"You don't know Potter!" shrieked Snape. "She did it, I know she did it—"

"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfreyy, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Hailey, Hermione, Michael, and Mandy are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in trouble them further."

"I'm confused. What am I in trouble for? I just woke up a few minutes ago," Mandy said, confused.

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, who eyes were twinkling behind his glass. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind them, and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge.l "The _Daily Prophet_ 's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well…I'd better got and notify the Ministry…"

"And the dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent girl…Completely out of control…no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight…Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance…"

"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Hailey, Hermione, and Michael. As he and Fudge left the wing, Madam Pomfrey hurried to door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.

"So what happened?" Mandy asked eagerly.

There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting, rubbing his head, and looking around. "What—what happened?" he groaned. "Hailey? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

Hailey, Hermione, and Michael looked at each other.

"You two can explain to them," said Hailey, helping herself to some more chocolate.


	22. Owl Post Again

In the morning, Eva visited Michael in the hospital wing. She handed Michael a folded piece of paper and said, "From your parents, Mikey." She sat on the hospital bed and swung her legs.

Hailey looked at the two and Michael groaned, "Grounded again."

Hailey was positive that his parents would be very angry if they found out that he helped a convict and 'mad' hippogriff escape.

"Did you see what your dad put?" Eva asked giggling.

Michael said, "I got beat up by a tree and almost had my arm ripped off by a big dog, don't I deserve some sympathy? Or pity?"

"No," Eva said, shaking her head.

"How grounded are you?" Mandy asked confused.

Michael looked at the note. "According to my dad, I'm so grounded that plants will look at me and say ' _damn_.'"

"Oh, and you get to visit Hogsmeade today, so I want you to get me a few things from Honeydukes," Eva said. She took out a piece of parchment and handed it to Michael. She took out her coin purse and opened it. "Here's some Galleons for the trip. You can keep the change." She handed Michael a handful of Galleons.

"Where did you get all those Galleons at?" Mandy asked.

Eva got off the bed and ran off.

* * *

It was noon when they were finally allowed to leave the hospital. Mandy and Michael went to visit Hogsmeade to get Eva the sweets she wanted.

So, Hermione, Ron, and Hailey went down to the lake, because Hermione and Ron didn't feel like going. Hailey and Hermione were talking about the events the previous night and coming up with theories on where Sirius and Buckbeak were at. They sat near the lake, watching the giant squid wave its tentacles lazily above the water.

She looked across the lake to the opposite bank. The doe galloped toward her from there just last night.

A shadow fell across them and they looked up to see a very bleary-eyed Hagrid, mopping his sweaty face with one of his table-cloth-sized handkerchiefs. He was beaming at them and said, "Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night. I mean, Black escapin' again, an' everythin'—but guess what?"

"What?" they asked, pretending to look curious.

"Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebratin' all night!" Hagrid exclaimed. Ron looked like he was close to laughing.

"That's wonderful!" said Hermione, giving Ron a reproving look.

"Yeah…can't've tied him up properly," said Hagrid, gazing happily out over the grounds. "I was worried this morin', mind….thought he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night…"

"What?" said Hailey quickly.

"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" said Hagrid, his smile fading a little. He lowered his voice, even though there wasn't anyone around. "Er—Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'…Thought everyone'd know by now…Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night…He's packin' now, o' course."

"He's _packing_?" asked Hailey, alarmed. "Why?"

"Leavin', isn' he?" said Hagrid, looking surprised that Hailey had to ask. "Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin' again."

Hailey got to her feet. "I'm going to see him."

Ron said, "But if he's resigned—"

"—doesn't sound like there's anything we can do—" Hermione said.

"I don't care. I still want to see him. I'll meet you back here," Hailey said and ran off towards the castle.

* * *

Lupin's office door was open and he had already packed most of his things. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk and looked up only when Hailey knocked on the door.

"I saw you coming," said Lupin, smiling, pointing to the Marauder's Map that he was looking at.

"I just saw Hagrid," said Hailey. "And he said you'd resigned. It's true, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid it is," said Lupin, opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents.

"The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?" Hailey asked, worried.

Lupin walked to the door and closed it behind Hailey. "No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convice Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." He sighed. "That was the finale straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he—er— _accidentally_ let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

"You're not leaving just because of that!" said Hailey.

Lupin smiled wryly. "This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents…they will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Hailey. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you…That must never happen again."

Hailey knew he had a point. She knew that werewolves were discriminated and she was positive that most of those owls would be from most of the Slytherins, but she was sure it was because of Malfoy's hatred against Lupin from day one and that most of the Slytherins had to follow Malfoy around. "You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had."

Lupin carried on emptying his drawers. Lupin said, "From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Hailey. If I'm proud of anything I've done this year, it's how much you've learned…Tell me about your Patronus."

"How d'you know about that?" questioned Hailey, distracted.

"What else could have driven the dementors back?" Lupin said. Hailey told Lupin what had happened and when she'd finished, Lupin was smiling again. "That was your mother's Patronus. Your father was always a stag when he transformed. That's why we called him Prongs." He threw the last of his books into his cased, closed the desk drawers, and turned to look at Hailey. "Here—I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night." He handed Hailey the Invisibility Cloak. "And…" He hesitated and held out the Marauder's Map too. "I am no longer your teachers, so I don't feel guilty you back this as well. It's no use to me and I daresay you, Ron, Hermione, Michael, and Mandy will find uses for it."

Hailey took the map and smiled. "You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school…you said they'd have thought it was funny."

"And so we would have," said Lupin, now reaching down to close his case. "I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his daughter had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle."

There was a knock on the door. Hailey hurriedly stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak in her pocket.

It was Professor Dumbledore, who didn't look surprised to see that Hailey was there. Dumbledore said, "Your carriage is at the gates, Remus."

"Thank you, Headmaster," said Lupin. He picked up his old suitcase and the empty grindylow tank. "Well—good-bye, Hailey." He was smiling. "It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometimes. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage…"

Hailey was sure that he wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Good-bye, then, Remus," said Dumbledore soberly. Lupin shifted the grindylow tank slightly so that he and Dumbledore could shake hand. Then, with a final nod to Hailey and a swift smile, Lupin left the office.

Hailey sat down in the vacated chair, staring glumly at the floor. She heard the door close and looked up to see that Dumbledore was still there.

"Why so miserable, Hailey?" he said quietly. "You should be very proud of yourself after last night."

"It didn't make any different because Pettigrew got away," said Hailey bitterly.

"Didn't make any difference?" responded Dumbledore quietly. "It made all the difference in the world, Hailey. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate."

 _Terrible._ That word reminded her of something. _Greater and more terrible than ever before…_ Professor Trelawney's prediction! She looked at Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore—yesterday, when I was having my Divination exam, Professor Trelawney went very—very strange."

"Indeed?" said Dumbledore. "Er—stranger than usual, you mean?"

"Yes…her voice went all deep and her eyes rolled and she said…she said Voldemort's servant was going to set out to return to him before midnight…She said the servant would help him come back to power." Hailey explained, staring up at Dumbledore. "And then she sort of became normal again and she couldn't remember anything she'd said. Was it—was she making a real prediction?"

Dumbledore looked mildly impressed. "Do you know, Hailey, I think she might have been." He sounded thoughtful. "Who'd have thought it? That brings her total of real predictions up to two. I should offer a pay raise…"

"But—" Hailey looked at him, aghast. How could Dumbledore be so calm about it? "But—I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin from killing Pettigrew! That makes it my fault if Voldemort comes back!"

"It does not," said Dumbledore quietly. "Hasn't your experience with the Time-Turner taught you anything, Hailey? The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed…Professor Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that…You did a very noble thing, in saving Pettigrew's life."

Hailey said, "But if he helps Voldemort back to power—!"

"Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt…When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them…and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Hailey Potter."

"I don't want a connection with Pettigrew!" snapped Hailey. "He betrayed my parents!"

"This is magic at its deepest, it's more impenetrable, Hailey. But trust me…the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."

Hailey couldn't imagine when that would be. Dumbledore looks as he knew what Hailey was thinking.

"I knew your father very well, both at Hogwarts and later, Hailey," he said gently. "He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it."

Hailey looked up at him. Dumbledore wouldn't laugh—she could tell Dumbledore… "I thought it was my mum who'd conjured my Patronus. I mean, when I saw myself across the lake…I thought I was seeing her."

"An easy mistake to make," said Dumbledore softly. "I expect you'll tire of hearing it, but you do look _extraordinarily_ like Lily. Except for the eyes…you have your father's eyes."

Hailey shook her head and muttered, "It was stupid, thinking it was her. I mean, I knew she was dead."

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in time of great trouble? Your mother is alive in you, Hailey, and shows herself more plainly when you have need of her. How else could you produce that _particular_ Patronus? The doe rode again last night."

It took a moment for Hailey to realize what Dumbledore had said. "Last night Sirius told me all about they became Animagi," said Dumbledore smiling. "An extraordinary achievement—not least, keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most unusual form your Patronus took, when it charged Mr Malfoy down at your Quidditch match against Gryffindor. You know, Hailey, in a way, you did see your mother last night…You found her inside yourself." With that Dumbldore left the office, leaving Hailey to her very confused thoughts.

* * *

Nobody at Hogwarts knew the truth of what had happened the night that Sirius, Buckbeak, and Pettigrew had vanished except for Hailey, Ron, Hermione, Michael, Mandy, and Professor Dumbledore. As the end of the term approached, Hailey heard many different theories about what had really happened, but none came close to the truth.

Malfoy was furious about Buckbeak and he was convinced that Hagrid had found a way of smuggling the hippogriff to safety, and seemed outraged that he and his father had been outsmarted by a gamekeeper. Mandy was gleeful at Malfoy's outrage and laughed at him.

Percy Weasley, meanwhile, had much to say on the subject of Sirius's escape. He told the only person who would listen to him, who was his girlfriend, Penelope. "If I manage to get into the Ministry, I'll have a lot of proposals to make about Magical Law Enforcment!"

Though the weather was perfect, the atmosphere was so cheerful, though she knew that they had achieved the near impossible in helping Sirius to freedom, Hailey had never approached the end of a school year in worse spirits.

She was certain that she wasn't the only one who was sad to see Professor Lupin go. She heard Seamus Finnigan say, "Wonder what they'll give us next year?"

"Maybe a vampire," suggested Dean Thomas hopefully.

* * *

One evening, she had gone down to the lake by herself at sunset, wanting to think things over. She took off her combat boots and socks, before walking up to the lake and wading in. The water was freezing, but it seemed a little soothing.

She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She helped freed an innocent man and saved Buckbeak from death, she should be happy. _What's wrong with me to feel like this?_ Hailey wasn't sure. Maybe it was because Remus Lupin resigned? However, she couldn't help but think about Professor Trelawney's prediction and she kept wondering where Pettigrew was now. _Did Pettigrew find sanctuary with Voldemort yet?_ She was also worrying about if she made it to fourth year too.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Michael asked from behind Hailey.

She turned around to look at him. He was standing a little bit away from the water's edge, his arms crossed. Hailey was knee-deep in the lake and she looked back out. She could've sworn that she saw the giant squid gliding in the water. She sighed, "It's just that…I just…" She sighed, "I feel like crap."

"What for?" Michael asked.

"I can't help but think about Trelawney's prediction. _The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was._ What does that mean?" Hailey asked.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Michael asked.

Hailey turned to look at him, "Come out here and join me."

"No, I'll stay here," Michael said.

Hailey almost sighed. "Look, there's nothing out here that's going to kill you. I'm still standing here. Trust me." She held out her hand.

"I'm good," Michael said, shakily.

"It feels odd talking to you from here," Hailey responded.

"Then how about you come out of the water and join me?" Michael countered.

Hailey asked, "Have you ever thought about conquering your fear of water?"

"Yes," Michael responded. "I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet."

"Now your chance," Hailey said. "Thanking about conquering your fear won't make it happen. Doing it will make you conquer your fear. Come on." She held out her hand to him.

"Were you terrified when you had to face You-Know-You or going into danger before?" Michael asked.

"Yes, and I still did it anyway," Hailey said and walked over to the edge of the water. "We're going to walk into the water, one step at a time. There's nothing that's going to hurt you. I'm not going to let anything hurt you. Do you trust me?" She held out her hand again.

Michael looked at Hailey's hand and then at her. His forehead furrowed and she knew that he was thinking. He looked at her and then crouched down to take his shoes and socks off. He rolled the legs on his trousers up to his knees and then made his way over to the water's edge. He stopped and Hailey stepped up next to him.

Hailey grabbed his hand, "We'll do it together, then." She led him to the water and stepped in. She held Michael inhale sharply.

"Crap, that's cold," Michael said and turned to leave. "Okay, I'm getting out."

"You're not even that deep," Hailey said, tugging on Michael's arm, nearly making the boy fall in the water. "Don't worry, I'll protect you. I promise. If you die, I'll die too."

"Promise?" Michael asked.

"Promise," Hailey said, nodding.

"All right," Michael said, turning back.

Hailey nodded and took another step into the water, Michael following after her. His hand was shaking and Hailey squeezed it in return. She took another step and they were only ankle deep now.

"I guess it's not so bad," Michael said. "Was Trelawney's prediction really getting you down?"

"That and everything else," Hailey said.

Michael repeated, "Everything else?"

"I wonder where Pettigrew is and if he made it back to Volde—I mean You-Know-Who yet," Hailey admitted.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Michael said.

"I'll miss Lupin," Hailey said. "He was the greatest teacher we had."

"That is true," Michael said, nodding.

Hailey took another step forward in the lake; Michael grudgingly stepped up to stand right next to her. He was looking down in the water and Hailey wondered when they stopped holding hands.

Hailey said, "I also don't want to go back to the Dursleys."

"You can always stay with me or the others," Michael said.

Hailey snorted, "Dudley will love that."

Michael looked at her confused, "Huh?"

"Last summer, he told his friends that you were my boyfriend," Hailey admitted, "So they kept taunting me with that 'Kissing in the Tree' song, every time they showed up."

Michael stared at her, "Really?"

"Yeah. All that over one hug," Hailey said, nodding. She looked out at the lake's surface. "Trust me, I told them you were just a friend and they ignored me."

"Damn," Michael said. "What would he tell them if I kissed you on a cheek?"

"Please don't. He'll probably tell them that we snogged for an hour," Hailey said. "He'll probably wiggle your last name from me and proceed to tell his friends that I want to be called Hailey Corner from now on."

"He's a prat," Michael said.

"I won't deny that," Hailey said.

There was a momentarily lapse of silence.

"Sorry for kissing you when we were going to the Quidditch final," Michael said.

Hailey waved her hand. "It's fine. It was an accident. Accidents happen." She kind of wished that it wasn't an accident. She remembered something. "Why did you try to kiss me on the cheek."

"You know, just friendship stuff," Michael said.

Hailey looked at him and said, "Yes, because I go around kissing Ron on the cheek all the time." Michael looked at her and looked like he was going to reply to that.

"There you two are," a voice called out. Hailey looked to see Mandy standing there, hands on her hips.

"Wow. He actually got in the water?" Mandy said, eyeing them. "Well, you better get out and get inside Ravenclaw Tower before we get in trouble for being out late."

* * *

On the last day of the term, the exam results came out. Hailey, Michael, Mandy, Ron, and Hermione had passed every subject. Hailey was amazed that she passed Potions and had a suspicion that Dumbledore might have stepped in top Snape failing her on purpose. Snape's behaviour towards Hailey over the past week had been quite alarming. She wouldn't have it possible that Snape's dislike for her could increase, but it certainly had. A muscle twitched unpleasantly at the corner of Snape's thin mouth every time he looked at Hailey, and he was constantly flexing his fingers, as though itching to strangle her.

Percy had got his top-grade N.E.W.T.s; Fred and George had scraped a handful of O.W.L.s each. Ravenclaw House, largely thanks to their spectacular performance in the Quidditch Cup had won the House championship for the third year running. The end of the term feast took place amid decorations of blue and bronze as everybody celebrated. Hailey had managed to forget about the journey back to the Dursleys the next day as she ate, drank, talked, and laughed with the rest.

* * *

On the last morning at Hogwarts, Padma, Hailey, Mandy, Lisa Turpin, and Su Li were reorganizing their trunks or making sure that nothing got left behind when they heard a strange fizzing sound

Mandy asked, "What is that—"

There was a loud popping sound, like multiple firecrackers were going off. There was screams of surprise from the Ravenclaw girls, along with the sound of multiple firecrackers going off at once. About ten blue and ten bronze coloured stars were bouncing off the walls and ceiling. They had to run out onto the staircase to avoid getting bombarded by the stars. From the looks of it, the other girls had the same problems. Boys had came out onto the staircase to see what was going on.

Head Girl Rebecca was at the foot of the staircase, laughing really hard. "I've always wanted to do that since the beginning of the year. Did you enjoy the show?"

Hailey wasn't entirely sure if Rebecca planning that involved going inside the dormitories at night to plan it, but then again, if it was during the day, Rebecca was probably busy with work, so at night would've been good.

* * *

As the Hogwarts Expressed pulled out of the station the next morning, Hermione gave them some surprising news. "I went to see Professor McGonagall this morning, just before breakfast. I've decided to drop Muggle Studies."

"But you passed your exam with three hundred and twenty percent!" said Ron.

"I know," sighed Hermione, "but I can't stand another year like this one. That Time-Turner, it was driving me mad. I've handed it in. Without Muggle Studies and Divination, I'll be able to have a normal schedule again."

"I still can't _believe_ you two didn't tell us about it," said Ron grumpily. "We're supposed to be your _friends_."

"I promised I wouldn't tell _anyone_ ," Hermione said.

"I still can't believe you all thought we were dating," Michael said. "I believe we would drive each other mad if we did."

"If we did, we would've told you. There's no reason for us to hide it anyway," Hermione said.

Hailey was watching Hogwarts disappeared from view behind a mountain. Two whole months before she'd see it again…

Hermione sadly said, "Oh, cheer up, Hailey!"

"I'm okay," Hailey responded quickly. "I'm just thinking about the holidays."

"Oh, that reminds me," Michael said. He took out a piece of folded parchment and handed it to Hailey. "This is my address. If you ever run into trouble with your relatives, you can come to me."

"Ooh," Mandy said. "Good idea." She took out some parchment and a quill. She wrote something down and passed it to Hailey. "Here's my address, too. Just in case your relatives forget that you're a human being and you can stay with me. The Knight Bus would be able to pick you up."

"I've been thinking about the holidays too," said Ron. "Hailey, you've got to come and stay with us. I'll fix it up with Mum and Dad, then I'll call you. I know how to use a fellytone now—"

"A _telephone_ , Ron," said Hermione. "Honestly, _you_ should take Muggle Studies next year…"

Ron ignored her. "It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer! How about it, Hailey? Come and stay, and we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get tickets from work."

Mandy looked at them. "I can get my dad to get me and Michael tickets for that. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

The idea cheered Hailey up a great deal. "Yeah…I bet the Dursleys'd be please to let me come…especially after what I did to Aunt Marge…"

Feeling more cheerful, Hailey joined Ron, Hermione, Michael, and Mandy in a few rounds of Exploding Snap.

When the witch with the tea cart arrived, she bought herself a very large lunch, avoiding things with chocolate in it, because she was getting sick of it.

It was late in the afternoon when Hermione said, "Hailey, what's that thing outside your window?"

Hailey turned to look outside to see something very small and grey was bobbing in and out of sigh beyond the glass. She stood up for a better look and saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a lettle that was much too big for it. The owl was small that it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the train's slipstream. Hailey pulled down the window and stretched out her arm, and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch and she carefully brought it inside.

The owl dropped it's letter on Hailey's seat and began zooming around their compartment, apparently very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task. Hedwig clicked her beak with dignified disapproval. Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl with his great yellow eyes. Ron, noticing Crookshanks's reaction, snatched the owl out of harm's way. Hailey picked up the letter to see that it was addressed to her. She opened the letter and shouted, "It's from Sirius!"

"What? Read it aloud!" Ron and Hermione exclaimed excited.

 _Dear Hailey,_

 _I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post._

 _Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job._

 _I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted._

 _There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt—_

"Ha!" interrupted Hermione triumphantly. "See! I _told_ you it was from him!"

"Yes, but he hadn't jinxed it, had he?" said Ron. "Ouch!" The tiny owl, now hooting happily in his hand, had nibbled one of his fingers in what seemed to think was an affectionate way.

Hailey continued to read:

 _Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of present from your godfather._

 _I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you._

"How did he know that you left you uncle's house or if it was you?" Mandy asked, confused.

Hailey continued to read again:

 _I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable._

 _If ever you need me, send word. You owl will find me._

 _I'll write again soon._

 _Sirius_

Hailey looked eagerly inside the envelope. There was another piece of parchment in there. She read through it quickly and felt giddy at the sight:

 _I, Sirius Black, Hailey Potter's godfather, hereby give her permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends._

"That's probably good enough for Dumbledore," Mandy said.

"Yeah," said Hailey, looking over the letter. "Hold on, there's a P.S.."

 _I though your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat._

Ron's eyes widened and the tiny owl was still hooting excitedly. "Keep him?" he sounded uncertain. He looked at the owl closely, to their surprise, he held him out for Crookshanks to sniff. "What do you reckon? Definitely an owl?" Crookshanks purred. "That's good enough for me." He sounded happy, "He's mine."

Hailey read and reread the letter from Sirius all the way back into King's Cross station.

"Try and talk you aunt and uncle into letting you stay with me," Mandy said. "Actually, I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to send you to my house."

It was still clutched tightly in her hand as she, Hermione, and Ron stepped through the barrier.

Hailey spotted Uncle Vernon at once, because he was standing a good distance from Mr and Mrs Weasley, eyeing them suspiciously, and when Mrs Weasley hugged Hailey in greeting, Vernon's worst suspicious about them were confirmed. Mandy, Michael, and Eva came from the barrier.

"I'll call about the World Cup!" Ron yelled.

"Try to get them to allow you to stay at my house!" Mandy called as Hailey went to her uncle.

"Eva is running some of underground Puffskein breeding ring," Michael said to his parents, who weren't looking very impressed at Michael's bout of rule-breaking. They probably weren't going to be very impressed with the whole "helping a convicted murderer escape on a mad hippogriff" part, if they knew about that part.

"No!" Eva shouted. "You're very far off, Mikey!"

Hailey waved goodbye to her friends, as she wheeled the trolley bearing her trunk and Hedwig's cage toward Uncle Vernon, who greeted her in his usual fashion.

"What's that?" Uncle Vernon snarled, staring at the envelope Hailey was still holding in her hand. "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another—"

"It's not," said Hailey cheerfully. "It's a letter from my godfather."

"Godfather?" sputtered Uncle Vernon. "You haven't got a godfather!"

"Yes, I have," Hailey said brightly. "He was my parents' best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though…keep up with my news…check if I'm happy…" She grinned widely at the look of horror on her uncle's face, and she set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of her. It seemed like it was going to be a much better summer than last year.

* * *

A/N: Slytherclaw gave me the idea of Hailey helping Michael conquer his fear of water, so that part is dedicated to them.

I also want to say that Year 4 will be titled: The Storm Approaches: Year 4, so keep that in mind.


End file.
